Houses Walk On Broken Stilts
by Leaf Skeletons
Summary: An alternate universe story where Kronos is victorious and Camp Half-Blood is kept under occupation by his armies. Travis Stoll has been taken away and Connor has to find a way to get him back. A rescue mission and an escape. Resistance.
1. The devils have come a knocking

_Author's Note: This takes place in an alternate universe. The armies of Kronos have won and have taken over America. Percy Jackson is dead. _

The skeletal trees were smudged charcoal against the brightening sky, their branches drunk on silver frost. The pale golden sun of a new dawn was rising hesitantly from behind emerald mountains, its gentle light silently licking the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood.

At this early hour, a line had already formed outside the big house. It was the first day of the month of December, which meant that the new ration books would be distributed. A pall was cast over the ever-growing line as the quiet demigods fidgeted as they waited their turn.

It had been slightly over three months since Kronos and his armies had emerged victorious. Percy Jackson had been slayed by the Titan's hand, along with other notable names like Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase. The three of them had added to the mile-long death toll of other campers who had fallen in the great Battle of Manhattan; campers like Michael Yew and Charlie Beckendorf, amongst countless others.

The remaining demigods had been gathered and confined to their precious Camp, locked away from the outside world. They were labelled as dangerous and had to be contained. They were labelled as threats and were treated as such under the harsh steel fingers of the new Regime. No longer did Camp bring the easy-going routines and family bonding that it had been famed for previously, it was now a bastion of control. Lessons were turned to propaganda classes, everything had to adhere to a schedule of blistering order and anyone brought to light as even possibly, _possibly_, "Rebellious" was brought away into hills, never to be heard from again.

The previous night, one of these unlucky ones was Travis Stoll.

It had been a small thing, really, a simple complaint over the state of the slop that had been served to them at dinner. A careless, throwaway joke that belied an edge of resentment:_Gods, this shit again? Yeah, I feel loved, man._ They had come into the night, the demigods of Kronos- who the Campers had called the Golden- and wrenched him from his bed as he lay half-asleep in the milky midnight. At that time, there had been nothing a fearful Connor could do as he watched his brother be borne away by the grip of the enemy, he could only watch in horror as they took him away, the brother he had known since birth.

But as Connor waited for his turn to be given the small red book, his mind was swimming, formulating a plan that could end in death.

He was going to rescue Travis Stoll.

ooOOoo

The Aphrodite campers sat clustered together at one edge of their table, leaving a distraught Silena Beauregard alone. When Kronos emerged victorious, he had given a share of his twisted glory to those who had aided him on his rise. He had called on Silena, hailing her as one of his greatest helpers.

Silena hadn't wanted this. She had already come with a plan half-way through battle, something that would have turned the tide of war: to go back to Camp and bring the Ares campers to the battlefield, so that they would have a hope of success. Halfway on the journey back, though, she had been captured by some of the Golden, and brought to the throne of Kronos. He had tortured her in ways she had never imagined possible, broken her spirit and kept it away from her. As punishment, he had decided to leave her alive (while her Charlie was dead and it was her fault, _her_ fault) and tell everyone that she had been the Spy.

Of course no one wanted anything to do with her after that; not her family from Aphrodite- with Drew and Mitchell giving her their practiced looks of Hades every other minute- not her once-friend Clarisse LaRue (before she had been taken to the hills. Of course she had been the very first, the daughter of Ares had never been one to bow to the enemy) whose expression of disgust was churned with that of raw hurt at her betrayal.

Silena was broken, yes, but she was calculating her way out of the ashes. Prepared to claw out her way to the sun if need be.

ooOOoo

Kayla and Will Solace sat alone in the cabin of Apollo, the girl drawing the curtains shut.

"We have to do something." She hissed, scooting close to her brother. Walls had ears, the saying went, and nothing could be risked. "It's been three fucking-ass months, Will. We have to do something."

"Do what?" He asked, running his hands over his eyes. Kayla was right, he knew, her eyes peppered with thoughts she had read in old history books about past wars. About occupations and resistance. The answer, _fight back, _was a simple one but it raised the new question of How.

The two children of Apollo drummed their fingers on the floorboards. "The Hills." Will thought aloud, "They brought Clarisse to the Hills. And Travis, last night... And a bunch more... We'll escape, Kayla. We'll get out of this hell hole and leave for the hills. We get them out and we..."

"We start planning then," the girl mused, drawing out a shrivelled box of cigarettes and frowning at the dwindling number of cylinders. "We start_ really _damn planning."

The thought of a new idea, of a spark of new plan, burst within them in small flames. Hope raised her tiny head and they began to construct the details, agreeing on who to call on to join them. Wondering if they should tell their remaining three siblings or keep them safe in silence for the time-being.

So we leave now, in the knowledge that in a Camp Half-Blood held in an iron grip, the Resistance was rising.

* * *

The sounds of clanging issued from the cubicle next to that of Clarisse LaRue, punctuated by muffled shrieks. Wincing, the girl stood up and walked towards the bars that shielded her from the corridors and everything else. They had brought in a new prisoner. Other children of Ares who had been brought here included her idiot brothers Sherman Lim- who had tried to stop Them from taking her away- and the bulky Rajan Divyan who hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut when one of the new teachers had insulted his siblings during lessons. She knew this because Rajan was kept in the cell opposite her, and in those little pockets when their guards had drifted to short bursts of sleep, they had had little spouts of frantic whispered conversation.

"Come on man, you have to admit- the food was pretty darn bad!" Clarisse recognised the slightly whiny voice. It belonged to one of the Stolls. Staring across from her, she caught Rajan's eyes; the boy could see who the new prisoner was from his angle. _Travis_, he mouthed and Clarisse nodded.

The bars slammed shut again and the guard on duty that night, some Japanese boy with a patch over one eye, stalked past her cell with rage dancing on his face. "What the hell are you staring at?" He barked at her; the demigods of the Golden downplayed the power of the Gods- who had been locked away in some ancient prison somewhere, she'd heard- and still used phrases that denied such: God instead of Gods, Hell instead of Hades and so forth.

"Nothing, punk." She barked back, earning herself an angry look. There was nothing much Ethan could do, however, and he resorted to slinking away to his seat by the doors and glaring at the air.

"Clarisse?" She heard Travis's incorrigible voice echo off the walls, and Ethan stood up again, drawing out his sword and walking into Travis's stall- a frantic noise of a scuffle ensued and she detected that Ethan had taught Travis a little lesson.

"You're a coward, Nakamura." She said as he walked out of the Stoll's cell. "The boy doesn't even have any weapons."

Ethan poked his sword through the slim bars, wild determination flashing in his eyes.

"You will do well to remember," he whispered- and the bruises on her left cheek throbbed painfully as they recalled- "Who controls you now. Justice has been brought down for us, and justice we must honour."

Clarisse thought she could hear the time tick, slowly, very slowly. She had never been one to back down from a fight, but the gnawing in her stomach and the fatigue in her head reminded her that now was not the time.

Not yet, anyway. So she drew back, but was careful to not flinch away from Nakumara's remaining eye as he passed her. Catching Rajan's eye again, she caught the movements of his lips, drawing his words out of the air.

_This isn't justice. Not one fucking bit._


	2. Of leaves and thieves

**Destruction by Olympians (Part III): Poseidon**

To be completely honest, Connor's mind wasn't anywhere on the lesson; taught by a dracaena with a deceptively melodious voice and tilting lilt, she told of how Poseidon was nothing more than a vicious beast who wrought all manner of earthly destruction for no good reason, and how good it was of the Titans to have stopped it. Connor didn't really care about the Gods- except maybe his own father, because well, _family_- but he had to admit that they were at least a damn sight better than the Titans. Even so, he didn't care too much about Poseidon individually to mind the besmirching of his name. He had to admit, some of it was true.

But as he watched the backs of his classmates- this time last year they would have simply been relaxing off somewhere, and most off them would be home- and the sunlight that danced on their backs, leaking from the window slats, he was wondering who else he could trust to go off on the plan with him. The wanderer would need someone to anchor to; in any case, "alone" was not something he dealt with very well. It had always been Connor and Travis. Alone was strange, alone was too new and crisp and Alone did not fit.

As the hissing she-beast dismissed them for twenty minutes of rest, Connor made his way to where Katie Gardner was sitting with the faint sun in her ponytail. He noticed her lips were slightly blue from the cold, and her eyes were filled with worry. She had been the most obvious choice, being a good friend of Travis, in spite- or perhaps because of- their constant bickering.

"Hey, Katie." He muttered, sitting on the stoop beside her as they watched the greyness of the new Camp Half-Blood swirl in front of them. Rest his ass, his thought, everyone was too strung up to rest.

"Hey."

"You heard about Travis, right?" He had started the waltz then, his voice dropping to a whisper. Her eyes flashed to life and she nodded.

"Yes, oh Gods, Connor, what are we going to do?" She asked in a careful undertone.

Making sure no one else was eavesdropping, he puffed up his chest. "I have a plan."

Excitement rose up in Katie's voice, "Gods, yes, what?"

"We rescue Travis."

She nodded, "Yes. That's good and I'm in. Definitely. So what's the plan? Explain, hurry!"

Connor frowned. "That was the plan, though. We rescue Travis?"

Katie groaned in exasperation as shards of winter wind whipped her hair. "Connor, you are an absolute _idiot_! That's no plan, that's just a statement. We need a real plan."

"You come up with one then!"

Katie sighed, thoughts showing in her frown lines. "If we're really going through with this, it can't be just the both of us. Who else should we call?"

Connor shook his head. Had he been asked before the Great Battle, he would have said the names of quite a few campers. Now with the ears in the air and eyes in the night, trust was not something easily given away. He thought of the old Cabin counsellors; maybe there was something to start with.

Like a sign, he saw Kayla walk past with Will Solace; a cigarette was dangling from the girl's lips (she had better be careful with that, they were a scarce commodity now, and she practically lived off the stuff) and the smoke rings were drifting and colliding with the icy air. Could he trust Will? Connor knew he was a solid guy, but...

Well, screw it. Risks had to be taken.

"Will." He murmured to Katie, "We can trust Will, do you think?"

Biting her lip, she nodded. "I guess we can."

Connor nodded and Katie walked off to talk to Will.

The three of them had a hurried conversation of nods and darting eyes before Katie beckoned Connor to come towards them. He walked, slightly apprehensively.

"Katie says you want to break into the Hills?" Kayla hissed out of the corners of her lips. Will was looking at him with a steady gaze.

Connor inclined his head. "They took Travis. So will you guys help?"

"Fucking fantastic," Kayla pulled out the cigarette "Will and I were already planning to go get the prisoners out of there anyway. Since you're part of the plan now, you're with us."

"With us?"

"Once the prisoners are out, we're breaking off." Will clarified. "We'll be starting to do something, _really do something_, about the new rule. You in?"

Connor exchanged glances with Katie. Might as well, right? Once you're on board the death train, might as well go full steam ahead.

He nodded. "We're in."

* * *

Ethan Nakamura wasn't a happy boy. After the victory, he'd been quickly relegated to the Hills; a mere guard, he didn't have twice the honour he deserved for fighting for Kronos- it was his memory of Percy's Achilles heel that had brought the Prophecy child down, anyway.

Hidden behind clusters of trees and high up in the hills- hence the name, obviously- the smooth, steel prison was clustered away from the rest of the world by a fence of barbed wire. There were guards as well, demigods from Kronos's leagues. The prison was kept for those who rebelled in whatever way against the new Regime; specifically for demigods from the Camp.

And now Kronos was spending all his time away from these Godforsaken forests, anyway; the Titan Lord was dwelling in the main branches of New York City. And he was no longer Luke. Ethan suspected that whatever soul of the son of Hermes that had been left in the Titan had withered away and crumpled in despair after Kronos had plunged his spear into the heart of the Huntress, Thalia Grace. Luke Castellan, at any rate, had not made an appearance since then.

In the Hills, meals were sparse, always just enough to keep their strength up at a minimum but not nearly enough to keep away the constant hunger. There was no heating either- and forget about giving them more than their thin prison uniforms. It was hell, ironically, in this frigid winter.

They'd had their first casualty already: Sherman Lim, son of Ares. He and that LaRue girl had been the pioneer inmates, coming in as soon as the Regime had begun. He'd lasted a good three months, that boy.

His corpse wasn't pretty, Nakumara had to admit. He had fallen on his way from the outhouses to the barracks; his guard had probably didn't care too much to help him up and the boy was weak from the lack of food and exhaustion from the chores that they made them do. He'd frozen to death- the snow had been a devil that night.

They'd found his icy bones in the morning.

Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that amongst all this needless death, something had gone astray in his plan. Was this fair? He remembered what his mother had said to him:

_Too many in this day and age value mercy over justice. Justice, Ethan, without justice, we are nothing._

But what had the demigods done to deserve this treatment, he mused. Was defiance to the Regime equivalent to death? Lines had to be toed, he supposed. Rules had to be kept. If you wanted to rise in the ranks, you first had to surrender. That was fair. That was justice.

And if you couldn't listen? Then there was punishment.

That was justice. That was fair.

ooOOoo

Clarisse's unit that day was comprised of all the people in her room; namely, herself, Rajan and Travis. Their duty was to cut down the evergreens that grew around the Hills. The great Kronos, apparently, was a little scarce on lumber. What was shit, she thought, was that they could have easily deployed the Golden to do this chore, or leave it till summer. Or perhaps even fucking get the trees from the warmer states?

But of course, what would punishment be without you know, the punishment? So there the three of them were, overseen by that bastard Ethan and two other of Kronos's cronies, in the freezing cold and trying their hardest to down the giant trees.

It wasn't in Clarisse's nature to just do things because she was told to, but she was making an exception. She was still planning her escape from this shit-fest and she had to keep alive till then. She couldn't risk Chris, either. The boy was still at Camp and she feared that any lashing out on her part would earn him a trip to the Hills as well.

But of course, being who she was, she wasn't able to stop herself from giving a snide remark now and again. And oh, she thought, as the bruises on her skin throbbed madly in the thin air, did she pay the price.

She moved towards Travis, keeping score of his black eyes and cut lip.

"Is Chris okay?" She asked, her eyes darting fleetingly to Ethan. He was leaning against the trees, talking to the other guards. There was never hope of overpowering them, not in their weakened state. Forget brute force, which was what Clarisse relished, she had to be stealthy.

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he's fine. Not quite right, I guess, without you there to beat him up- ah I mean, love him-"

"Shut up."

"But he's fine."

Was he coming for her? Clarisse couldn't count on it, even if he was. In any case, it wasn't her style to play the Damsel. She thought for a moment. "What about Silena?" She asked in a sour voice.

Travis spat. "No one's talking to that bitch, but what do you expect?"

Rajan shook his head in disgust and whammed the axe at the tree; it made the slightest of dents as it slipped on the crystalline ice. "Stupid daughter of Aphrodite."

"How long more do we have to be stuck here?" Travis groaned as he took a swipe at the tree.

Clarisse shook her head, eyes fixated on the guards. They were still deep in their own conversation. "I don't know." She muttered. "We keep thinking of ways to escape but can't figure out how. None of us are Athena kids, you know."

Rajan looked up. "And preferably, if we want to escape we want to make it out alive. So that means be careful with your words, Stoll. I don't want out of here dead." He paused, looking at Clarisse. "It has to be a mass escape. I'm not leaving the rest of them here while we go free. Especially Sherman."

Clarisse nodded and glanced up. Ethan Nakamura was staring at them. He was a bit too far off to hear their whispered conversation of course, but she didn't want to take any risks. It wasn't time for that yet.


	3. You're the moon at halfmast

Kayla and Will were waiting together outside the Apollo cabin, crouching behind the half-wall that spread out alongside the porch. It was just a few minutes before midnight and those from the Golden who were out on patrol were going to switch shifts soon. The four of them (including Katie and Connor) had realised that before they could even make off for The Hills, they had to know where the prison was actually located.

A gust of icy air tugged at them and Kayla shivered from a mixture of fear and cold.

Will frowned, concerned. "You scared?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Of course not." She snapped.

"I was just asking. Relax, will you?"

"I'm not scared!"

Will shrugged. "Okay, then."

The two of them waited for a few minutes throbbing silence until they saw the guards shift off towards the Big House; the headquarters of the Golden. They slowly inched their way along towards the structure, hiding behind the cabins whenever need be and dashing behind them when the they thought they had a chance.

Finally they were just in front of the house. Standing on the top step of the porch was Raymond Crafts, a son of Demeter and the leader of the division of the Golden that was running Camp Half-Blood. Through the dim outline cast by the faint glow of the stars, they could make out his profile as he glared out into the night.

"How are we going to get past him?" Kayla whispered.

Will looked towards the lamp that Crafts had balanced on the stoop beside him; it was old-fashioned and a small flicker of bright orange flame danced inside it. He focused intensely on the flame and managed to make it sputter before flaring up; it burst the lamp apart, sending slivers of glass waltzing around Crafts who cursed-_ shit!_- and bent down in the sudden darkness to do something about the lamp.

Will grinned but felt a heady rush of slight fatigue. Children of Apollo could control flames- as long as they were small; what was fire that lit up the night but manipulations of the sun, after all. But fire wasn't the most direct link to the sun either, so the action would sap a little bit of their energy.

"Let's go." Kayla muttered, poised to run.

"Wait, let's not be too rash-" Kayla was already running towards the door of the Big House. Will sighed. One of these days, that girl was going to fall headfirst into trouble. Casting another glance at Crafts to make sure he was still occupied, Will hurried to follow his half-sister.

Once they were both inside the big house, they realised that they faced another problem: neither of them knew where the maps were kept, exactly. They presumed all of the Golden were either asleep- judging from the envelope of silence that shrouded the air- or out on patrol. They didn't want to spend too much time searching, though.

Will bit his lip, thinking hard. He thought he saw Michael through a haze, rolling his eyes at him. The memory sparked a burst of inspiration. He knew that the old cabin counsellors used to hold war councils in the recreation room... Could it be possible that the enemy was using that place as their command centre as well? The thought sent up an unwelcome flash of anger inside him that he couldn't quite bite down, but he somehow managed.

He nudged Kayla, who was staring around the place with a rather lost expression on her face. "The rec room." He hissed. "Possibly."

The two of them made their way silently towards the place. It had been kept the same way as it was before the Battle of Manhattan. Will traced the edge of the ping pong table, feeling a strange welling in his throat. Michael had been his best friend, and he told him nearly everything. For example, it was through him that Will heard about how Percy Jackson had stumbled through the prophecy the first time he read it. The air felt tighter in this room for some reason, and he thought he saw shadows blink on the walls. Shaking the strange thoughts from his head, he turned to Kayla who was rummaging through the loose leaves of paper on the table, holding them up to the faint light streaming in from the window, frowning as she tried to decipher the words.

Picking up another piece of paper, her face split into a grin. "Here!" She said, relieved, as she passed the map towards Will. He quickly scribbled down the location and points on a notepad he'd brought with him and placed the map back down on the table. Motioning to Kayla, the two of them carefully opened the window- not wanting to risk passing Crafts again- and hurried out of the Big House at the exact moment that Crafts entered the room to get a new box of matches.

They'd been lucky this time.

ooOOoo

Silena was trying her hardest to keep herself intact as she spent another breakfast alone at the Aphrodite table. She could hear Drew muttering to Mitchell and she tried her hardest to avoid their stony eyes. She knew very well what they were saying about her, but she couldn't help it. Mostly because she knew it was true.

She traced the edge of the table with her fingers, staring down into her bowl. Glancing up at the Hermes table, she noticed Chris eating his meal with the same expression on his face that he had ever since the morning that he found out that they took Clarisse away while he'd been sleeping: a jumbled maze of fear and worry. Silena wondered what was going through his head; was the boy thinking about helping Clarisse out? Was he planning to escape? Was he planning to do anything at all?

After three months, Silena didn't want to wait any longer. After breakfast, she made her way towards the Hermes cabin, where Chris was sitting out on the porch with his collar turned up against the biting air. She bit down the bubbling nervousness and glassy discomfort as she sat down next to him. He didn't ask her to fuck off, which was a good sign.

"Hey." She said softly.

Chris stared straight ahead, his eyes storming. "What the Hades do you want?"

Silena felt the words swill around in her tongue but she finally decided to spit them out. She settled on the one word that she knew would bring both of them together. "Clarisse."

His eyes sprang with new life. "What about her?" he spat.

"I was thinking... thinking about, you know, going after her?" She finished desperately, making sure there was no one in their vicinity.

"Ha! Why in Hades would _you_care? You're as good as the reason that she's been taken away in the first place."

Of course she was the reason, she thought angrily. Didn't he think she knew that? "That's why I want to fix it."

Chris glared at her in disgust. "Are you bugging this conversation? Are you trying to frame me for something? Because by Gods, if you are-"

"I'm not!" She begged. He had to listen to her, he just had to! "Chris, I never meant for this. Luke promised me that no one would get hurt, that none of my friends would get hurt! Clarisse was my friend, my best friend-"

"Friendship doesn't mean that much to you then, apparently."

Silena bit her lip. "Did you think I wanted Charlie to... to die?" She whispered, feeling something twist inside of her. "You don't want Clarisse to... You don't want the same thing to happen to her, do you?" the air grew hard with intensity and she prayed that he wouldn't hit her, but maybe she'd deserve it. Watching a droplet of water slide down the gnarled trunk of a tree, Silena suddenly thought of something. "You know how persuasive Luke can be, Chris."

He tensed. She'd hit home, she knew she had. She took a breath and continued. "You were with Luke as well. We both did wrong, we both screwed up." Were those tears in his eyes? Maybe it was just the harsh air. She felt her voice wobble. "You know how it feels to be forgiven. Clarisse forgave you." He was refusing to look at her. "Chris, you all of all people should know what a second chance means," she begged. "You're my only hope. I want Clarisse safe. I want to fix it, please."

The boy shut his eyes, drawing a deep ragged breath of sharp air that pierced his lungs. When he finally opened his eyes, they were gleaming. "Fine." He said in a gentler voice. "Fine. But if you're shitting me, Silena, you're dead."

ooOOoo

Connor stared out into the white landscape during lessons, thinking hard. Their escape was set for tonight; he would have to pack well, the journey would be at least a day's worth if they hurried. Three days at most.

Because he would get Travis back. There was no what if; no alternative.

Connor focused on one of the snowflakes, a carved piece of white dancing down through the smudged windowpane.

He was going to get his brother back, no matter the cost.


	4. And they drank the stars

It was just before dinner that evening when the four of them met; Connor nervously biting his lip, Will containing his fear under a calm exterior, Katie twitching slightly and Kayla lighting a cigarette with trembling fingers.

"Look at the moon," Katie said in a small voice. They stared at the slim pale crescent shining against the mellow sky. "It's a pretty moon."

"Why are you babbling?" Kayla muttered.

"Kayla," Will warned. "Let's just relax, okay."

Connor turned to the archway, which was the only way they could get out camp. It was being guarded by two beefy kids from the Golden. He stroked the fireworks in his pocket. It wasn't the best plan, if all of them were being honest but there was no other way to get out. The guards at the gate would have keen eyes at all hours, and in the silence of the deep night, it would be impossible to just bypass them unseen.

_Hey man, just going out to say hi to Peleus and stuff. No big deal._

Yeah, right.

So they had settled on a distraction during the busiest time of the day. He handed a clump of the fireworks to each of his friends and they walked off to separate locations. They stood out a bit from the crowd since they had bagpacks slung over their shoulders, but there really wasn't much they could do. Once they escaped, it would be clear that they were gone, anyway. As it was, their plan was just going to be really... obvious. Might as well go full out, eh?

Looking up from the ground, Connor noticed a frowning Crafts coming towards him. "Hey, Stoll- is that it?- what's with the bagpack?"

Connor took a deep breath and gave a salute- the signal.

A sprinkle of fireworks shot off simultaneously, sparking the quiet air with a million exploding lights and loud bangs. One of the nearest ones shot off opposite Crafts, sending the demigod falling to the ground.

"Fuck it!" There was a mad scramble and ensuing wildness of people just running around, drenched in panic, and the guards rushing into the frenzy trying to keep the peace. More of the explosives shot into the sky, sending sparks of multi-coloured light that danced on the sludge. The guards at the gate were gone, running through the crowd with the rest of the Golden and trying to find the source of the chaos.

He spotted Kayla, Will and Katie running to the archway through the chaos and hastened to follow them. Like trees in the forest, they were indistinguishable in the madness.

His breath caught as they slipped through the arch, leaving a wild Camp Half-Blood behind them. He made to glance back at his home one last time but Kayla gripped his hand- "Hurry, for fuck's sake!" So he ran wildly with them, snaking through the evergreens and hiding amongst them as they rushed away from the blazing chaos.

They sprinted through the trees with their hearts spinning in their throats, going further and further in until they thought they'd created enough distance between them and the Camp; they were engulfed in the crisp air and settling silence when they thought they were safe.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Kayla gasped, slumping against a tree.

"We got lucky." Will agreed, "Let's rest awhile- an hour or something. We'll get going after that."

Katie stood up- she'd been squatting on the ground; too tired to stand but not wanting to sit on the icy undergrowth. "They're not coming after us, aren't they?" She asked, squinting into the distance.

Will shook his head. "We should be fine for now. Rest for a bit, we can't go on like this anyway." He turned to Connor who was looking forlorn, his face speckled with the faint twilight that laughed through the leaves of the firs. "You okay?"

Connor raised his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm just hungry. We missed dinner, if anyone noticed."

* * *

Raymond Crafts paced in front of the demigods stood in solemn lines before him. A stray sparkler sputtered to death in the snow as he crushed it under the heel of his foot.

"Who," he asked in a dangerously quiet purr, "Is responsible for this?" He looked into the crowd, "Connor Stoll?"

Silence. Something wasn't right here.

"Where is Connor Stoll?!" He yelled, looking to where the Hermes cabin was gathered.

"He's not here." Chris Rodriguez responded in a flat voice. A whistle of wind rushed through the air. "He's gone, I don't know where... He's not here."

Crafts felt a flash of fury and panic rise within him. "Guards!" He shouted, catching the attention of the twenty guards he'd assigned- one for each cabin; the minor gods had kept their promise to claim their children with the defeat of the Gods. The new cabins were being built slowly, but surely, trying to earn support of course. "Check your attendance lists," he demanded, "See if you've got everyone."

He allowed ten minutes for roll call before the guards gathered before him. "Is everyone here? They were all supposed to come down for dinner."

"Katie Gardner's missing."

"Two of the Apollo kids- Will Solace and a Kayla Greens."

Crafts cursed. "Go check their cabins, anywhere you can think of! Find them!" Suddenly remembering the sight of Connor with a bagpack hitched on his shoulder, he frowned with sudden realisation. They must have escaped, he thought angrily, the bastards!

"Change of plan." He whispered to guards. "I'll need some of you to go into the woods. I think we have a couple of escapees on our hands."

He left the charges to settle it amongst themselves and walked towards the silent cluster of demigods. With satisfaction, he noted the expressions of confusion and fear on their faces. The Demeter cabin had little respect previous to this, especially if you were a boy.

_Aw Raymie... It's the flower boy, look!_

It was always about the other cabins, he had thought darkly when he joined Kronos. Everyone else had been stepped down upon, not important enough, were they?

Well that had changed.

"Some of your _friends_," he declared into the silence, "Have decided to run off like _cowards_. As punishment, your meals will be halved for a week." A faint murmuring rose but he yelled for silence, his eyes dancing madly with wild intensity. A hush fell over them again. "Rest assured we will find them. And when we do, we will show you what we do with those who deny the power of Kronos."

* * *

"Nakamura," Crafts was speaking into a cellphone. There used to be a time where demigods could easily iris-message each other, but the goddess had chosen to join the Gods rather the Titans; unlike the other minor Gods, she had at least some respect, what with the campers always calling on her and asking for her blessing and granting her offerings.

"What is it, Crafts?" The boy's voice crackled through the earpiece.

Raymond stared out at the darkening sky. "We have a problem. Four of the campers have escaped."

An indistinct noise came running down the line, "Escaped? How the hell did that happen?"

"It was a mess, alright!" Raymond barked, "I just wanted to put you on alert. I'm sending over a demigod as well, some kid named Austin from the Apollo cabin."

"What did he do?"

"What did his siblings do, more like. Two of them were part of the band that escaped. We had to send a message, Nakamura. We took compensation so that the campers wouldn't be so eager to leave next time." Crafts twisted his lips, his voice dripping out in a sour high-pitch, "Demigods care for their _families_."

Crafts thought he could hear Nakamura frown over the line. "He shouldn't be punished for what his siblings did, Crafts."

Raising an eyebrow, he responded, "Have you been listening? Campers escaped; if we don't do something about it, it's going to become something commonplace! Of course I had to do it!"

There was a brief pause on the other side before Nakumara spoke, his voice choppy. "What about security?"

"I've upped the number of guards at the archway, in shifts of course. They've been instructed not to leave their post at any cost."

"Will you rethink sending the Apollo kid?"

"No. He should be there soon." Crafts put down the phone, cutting off the line. Fucking Nakamura, always having to make things so difficult.

As the snow whipped around the trees up in the Hills and the setting sun drenched the icy forests in fire, Ethan Nakamura clenched his fists and swore.


	5. High away from here, wind in our ears

"How the fuck do we read this thing?" Kayla groaned, clutching the map that Will had penned down. "Will, are you sure you copied the map shit correctly?"

"I did, Kayla!" Will said testily; they'd already spent a day out in the freezing cold, eating and drinking little because Connor hadn't packed enough rations, which meant everyone was sharing their sparse meals from the collective pool. He knew that he was the unspoken leader of the bunch, but Hades- he was tired, he was hungry and he was shivering.

"Let me read it!" Connor pulled the paper from Kayla's grasp. He ran his eyes through the drawings and tossed it back to her. "Ah, hades- you read it!"

"Idiot!"

"You're not having any headway, either, _Kayla_-"

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're not having any headway-"

"Shut up!" Will yelled, banging his fist against the rough trunk of one of the trees. Showers of fluffy snow fell to the ground. "Guys," he said in a calmer tone, "Let's just get together and brainstorm this." He took the map from Kayla and passed it to Katie Gardner, who'd been very quiet throughout the whole argument. "Katie, why don't you try?"

Katie's pale brown eyes skimmed the slightly damp paper before lighting up in understanding. "Oh, this is easy enough."

"Why didn't you ask for it earlier?" Connor moaned.

"Well, you two were too loud for me to be heard anyway!"

"Oh get off it!" Kayla shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Will said again. "Okay, Katie. You know the way, lead us to it."

The girl's fingers traced the drawings on the map. "See, you penned down this squiggly line thing? It's a trail, I think. It would make sense, if the Golden had a sort of trail which they'd use to drive their prisoners up to The Hills; I doubt they'd want to walk the whole way." Will nodded, ushering her to continue. "I'd guess that trail is..." she clenched her eyes shut, drawing symbols in the air. Opening them again, she took out a compass from her pocket and gestured somewhere towards their right. "Somewhere there."

Feeling somewhat better about having a set destination, the four of them quickly packed up their sleeping bags and blankets and followed Katie through the white and emerald thicket.

* * *

After about forty minutes of walking, they reached a separation between the trees: a snaking and thin trail of crumbly rock and slight ice that cut its way through the woods.

"Let's keep off the trail," Will suggested, "In case the Golden are coming up on it. We don't want to be seen."

"Cool." Katie said as a still glowering Kayla and Connor remained silent. "But we want to keep near it, in case we lose it."

"No shit." Connor muttered in a small voice.

Presently, the whirring sound of a jeep cutting through the wintry air caused the band to quickly press against the trees and cast their eyes onto the trail.

Will nudged Kayla, who was the nearest to the road. "Try and see what's going on!"

The army coloured jeep was making a slow but steady trip as it bumped along the track. The logo of Kronos's armies were slashed into the side of the vehicle. "It's the Golden..." She whispered. Noticing something, she squinted her eyes to get a better view. "Wait a second... There's this kid in the backseat..." Kayla grabbed Will's sleeve. "Shit, it looks like Austin!"

Will scrambled towards her, looking at the departing jeep. "Holy hades, it is Austin!"

The four of them exchanged desperate looks.

Connor bit his lip and tried to pluck thoughts out of his racing mind. "Right, everyone," he said quickly, "This crafty son of Hermes has a plan. We stop the jeep- I don't care how. That way we can take out the Golden, get their uniforms and have an easier entry into the Hills when we actually reach AND save Austin. Win-win, yes?"

"Great." Will thought on it fast, "But how do we stop the jeep?"

"Already on it." Katie said. The other three watched as the daughter of Demeter screwed her eyes shut, her pale hands twisting in front of her. A little ways ahead of the slowly moving jeep, a slim tree strained to find its way out of the ground. Katie's breathing started to dance faster as the young tree struggled to pull its root out of the icy soil but it finally tilted towards its left, slamming onto the ground just as the jeep halted to a stop before it.

"Good job." Will said appreciatively, passing a sweating Katie a water bottle as her eyes flew open again. Connor patted her on the back.

Three doors were tossed open and they noticed three of the Golden- wearing their black uniforms with gold stripes etched into their shoulders- walking out, their hands in the air and their lips twisted in frustration. One of them reached back into the jeep and pulled Austin out. The young boy's eyes were large in fear.

"What the hell are we going to do now?"

"Shift the tree of course!"

Will reached into his bagpack and pulled out his bow and arrow. Kayla did the same. They focused on two of the guards and let their arrows whistle through the thin air- they were aiming for their shoulders. Enough to hurt, but not enough to kill. They weren't ready for that yet. Will's arrow, however, danced a little too far to the right and breezed past the ear one of the Golden instead. "Shit!" He hissed.

"Get ready for it." Kayla said as the guards looked towards their direction; one of them was pulling an arrow out of his shoulder, his eyes flaming as he cursed.

"Time for the fun." Connor quipped as the guards began to run towards. He looked back at Kayla, whose eyes were wide. "Come on, what the Hades are you waiting for?" He grabbed her wrist as the four of them began running towards the fray.

"Will? Kayla?" They could hear Austin scream- he was being held by the guard with the bleeding shoulder. The boy tossed his elbow back, letting it connect with the guard's face. He let out a cry and released the boy who jumped on one of the other guards from behind. The two sides met with their bodies flying into each other's. It was a playground fight of swirling fists and flailing limbs- but the Golden had the disadvantage; not only did Will's lot have one extra member on their side with the help of Austin, but one of their own was already down with a bloody nose and injured shoulder, lending the other side a two-person favour.

The scuffle was intense and quick- but both sides had been in wars, both sides had been trained- and the numeric advantage was what pushed things over in the end.

Will dragged the last Golden over to one of the trees. They had all been knocked out and were lying pathetically in the blood flecked snow.

"You all okay?" He asked, wiping a trail of red from his left cheek. They nodded and he stumbled over to Austin, who was trembling a little. "You okay, man?"

The younger boy nodded and Will slung a hand over his shoulder. "What did they bring you in for, anyway?"

Austin broke away from him to glare at Will. "Because of you four!" He yelled, jabbing a finger at each of them in turn.

"Austin, what-"

"Why'd you do it huh, Will? Kayla? Why'd you leave us alone? We're your siblings, for the sake of the Gods! They took me you know- for "compensation"-"

"Did they take anyone from Demeter?" Katie shrieked, panicked. If they had taken anyone of her brothers or sisters... she didn't think she could live with herself.

Austin shook his head sourly. "Not from Hermes either. I guess it was because two from _our__ cabin ran off..."_ He threw the words at Kayla and Will like a lost child with stones in his fragile hands.

"Fuck it, Austin," Kayla began contritely, "We didn't think they would go for you..."

"We really didn't." Will clenched his eyes shut. "Man, we're so sorry."

"Where were you planning to go?" Muttered Austin petulantly. "Could've brought us, you know."

"We wouldn't leave you lot to suffer while we were free!" Will retorted. "We were planning to break into The Hills!"

The expression on Austin's face shifted from hurt and anger to one of astonishment. "Seriously? What for?"

"To get the prisoners out?" Connor said, waving his right hand for attention. "You know, part of our daily routine: Break into prison, start an army..."

"Start an army?" Austin whispered.

"That's the plan, anyway." Connor replied. "A thousand things could go wrong, but hey. We're dead either way, am I right?" He laughed sardonically but no one joined in. The joke hit a little too close to home.

"Before we go..." Will said, "What are we going to do with these? We can't leave them here, they'll get eaten by bears-"

"Sad for the bears." Connor put in. At the same time Katie muttered, "Aren't bears hibernating?"

"We can't leave them here anyway. When they wake up they might go to alert the rest."

"We take their equipment with us, then. The drive from here will be faster than they can walk back. I mean, we've got no other choice."

"Well, there's that." Will agreed. "I guess now we take their uniforms."

* * *

Night was just pulling her navy blanket tight over the Hills when the jeep shuddered towards The Hills. Katie, Will, Kayla and Connor were covered in the scratchy uniforms; Katie was in the backseat with Austin, who had put on an expression of fear.

Ethan Nakamura approached from his post in front of the steel gates. "Yes?"

Will stuck out his head. "We're transporting a prisoner. Show your head!" He barked at Austin, who put his head out. "Austin Jones- son of Apollo."

Ethan looked at his clipboard, matching the dark skin and shaved head of the boy in the picture and the boy in front of him. That was correct.

"I've never seen you before."

"We've been brought in from the City. The Camp decided that in the wake of the escapes, they needed extra guards."

Ethan frowned. "Are you on the record?"

"We're being transferred." Connor put in from his spot next to Will. "We should be up by 00 00 hours tonight."

Ethan looked at them again but decided that it was fine. "Park in there." He gestured.

Quivering with anticipation and nerves, they all got out of the jeep, Katie gave Austin to Will, who grabbed him by the shoulders. "Where do we put the boy?"

"Follow me." Nakamura signaled. Their attention was caught by another guard leading three people through the gates. Two of them looked almost skeletal; all three looked broken and half-dead.

Connor bit down a shout. It was them: Clarisse and Divyan.

And Travis.

They exchanged looks- eyes widening. Will shook his head quickly and the three prisoners wiped the puzzled expressions from their faces, Travis and Connor tearing their eyes away from each other. It was obvious something was going on and they didn't want to mess it up.

Fumbling with a pair of handcuffs and chain, Ethan missed the barrage of looks. Raising his head, he let out a grunt as he shackled Austin's hands. "Good, their unit has a spare cell. Follow me," he looked at Will. "What's your name?"

"Liam. Liam Anthony."

"This way, Anthony." Was that an expression of regret on Nakamura's face as he chained Austin to the back of the line? He put Austin just behind Clarisse who was standing stick-straight and marble cold. Her hair was lit up by the faint starlight. What had they done to them?

The odd procession made its way through the prison walls; the cold was searing and the place smelled almost harsh and clinical. When they reached their room, the other three prisoners made their way in front of their cells and Nakamura unchained the line.

Clarisse and Divyan exchanged looks and leaped at Nakamura who was too shocked to respond. He fell to the floor before he could draw out his revolver. But the two children of Ares were too weak to hold him and they rolled off, leaving the duty to the other five. Connor ran to Travis while the other four grabbed Ethan- it was four to one and they chained him up, removing his gun, cellphone and walkie-talkie.

"What the fuck!" He yelled, but Kayla pulled out a strip of cloth and gagged the boy. Katie went to help Divyan and Clarisse while Will knocked Nakamura out cold, leaving him lying against the cold floor.

"What the Hades-" Divyan gasped, as Katie helped him stand.

"Surprise." Connor grinned, looking at his brother in concern. "Your guardian angels have come." He looked at Clarisse. "Well, I'd say that Chris is yours, but he's absent so-"

"Shut it, punk!" The girl rasped. Gods, did she look horrible. Her skin was a pale yellow that made a mad swirl with the purple bruises and she looked so small and fragile. Travis was not yet that level, but Divyan was as well.

"You're our escape?" Divyan barked. "Well, this escalated quickly." He gestured towards the still-Nakamura. "Put the boy in the cell, the keys are on the hook by the door."

Once that was done, the demigods looked at each other, punctuated by the sterile and frigid silence.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Connor, Travis broke it. "Well, what now?"


	6. Yesterday's a Morning Glory

Will's head was throbbing madly; he was extremely tired. But he knew that all of them were, so he sucked it up and took a deep breath.

Addressing Clarisse, Divyan and Travis, he asked, "Do you know how many other campers are here?"

"We don't know. We've seen a couple, but we have no idea," put in Divyan, "We were locked in here for everything but chores and going to the toilets."

"And you better find out, because we're not leaving here without Sherman or any of the other idiots." said Clarisse.

"We could go find the control room or whatever the hades they call it," Kayla suggested. "I bet they have the information there."

"How much do you bet?" Connor grinned.

Katie rolled her eyes. "You're seriously thinking about that now?"

"The problem is how you punks are going to get there…" Clarisse mused.

"That's not the problem," said Will, "We could just go out and ask any of the guards." He thought for a minute. "We're splitting up." Pointing at those who had been kept as prisoners, he said, "You three go with Connor…"

"Katie's coming with us!" said Travis. Katie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, okay. You guys go out to the parking lot and find a spot to wait. Connor you've got experience with making up stories-"

"Making up bullshit, more like." interrupted Clarisse.

"Tell anyone who asks... well you figure it out. The rest of us will go find out how to get everyone from Camp out of here."

Clarisse and Divyan made sounds of outrage, "What the hades do you mean 'rest of us'!" Divyan said angrily. "We're coming with you, too!"

"No you're not," Will said, "You're in no shape to rush around, alright? You'll only slow us down. Sorry." He added apologetically.

They didn't look happy about it; their faces were blanketed in frustration and anger, but they nodded their agreement. They really weren't in any sort of form to be running about, and much as they hated to admit it, they knew it.

Gesturing to the door, Will showed them out. "Signal if anything goes wrong," he said to Connor, taking out his transmitter; the devices had come with the uniforms, and they'd spent the ride up to The Hills figuring how to work them.

"Roger that." Connor chuckled as he supported Travis who was limping a little. "I've always wanted to say that."

Divyan pulled the door shut behind him with a thud.

Now it was just the three children of Apollo: Austin, Kayla and Will.

Will looked at Austin, "You're going to have to pretend to be our prisoner, okay?" The younger boy nodded.

"Let's go."

ooOOoo

With the snippets of information they'd gathered from the guards, the three of them made their way through the labyrinth of The Hills until they found the pale green door that led to the control room. At the moment there was only one person inside; a slight, pretty girl with shaggy red hair and brown eyes. She raised an eyebrow when she entered.

"We're new kids from the City," Will said and the questions in her eyes died. "Nakamura asked us to get a list of the prisoners?"

The girl nodded. "You guys on the records yet?"

Kayla shook her head. "Nah, the guys down at base will only get it done by midnight tonight. Lazy bastards." Will cast a panicked glare but the redhead just chuckled.

"See that computer on the right? There're a couple of extra lists next to it. Take only one copy though; one of you will have to record it by yourself."

Will made forward with his hands on Austin's shoulders but the girl stopped him. "Woah, the prisoner stays outside and you'll have to accompany him."

"Oh, alright then. Sorry, not used to protocol here." Will quipped as he cast Kayla a piercing glance and waited outside the room.

The light in the room was dim, and the window was a narrow glass-covered slit in the wall surrounded by crinkled green paint. Kayla could see harsh pinpricks of light that lit up the barbed-wire gates.

The computer that sat on a desk that had a bronze plate labelled with 'Nakamura'. Kayla picked up one of the lists. Running through the names on them (there were twenty-three, with the addition of Austin), she realised that the name marked number 2, Sherman Lim, was struck out. "Dead" was written next to it in a hasty scrawl.

Kayla bit back a gulp.

Next to each name was a unit number; there were six full rooms in total.

"Hey," Kayla said to the redhead, who looked up from her own computer. "D'you have a map of the place or something?"

The girl frowned. "Not at the moment, no. I guess you just have to ask around for directions."

Kayla muttered a hasty thanks and went out of the room.

ooOOoo

The redhead was named Vivian, and a few minutes after the three of them left, she heard Ethan's computer let out a shrill beep. Rushing over to the machine and almost upsetting a Styrofoam cup of cold coffee, she looked at his screen and let out a gasp; it was a message from Crafts down at Camp, and it was details on the escapees, inclusive of pictures.

Oh hell, she thought frantically,rushing over to the alert button on the wall, she'd just seen them.

ooOOoo

Just as Kayla, Will and Austin turned the corridor, they heard the harsh sounds of an alarm rip through the air. They looked at one another in fear.

"Fuck," Kayla hissed, "I think they know…"

The three of them began to run through the corridors, hoping against hope that they'd be able to make their way to the six rooms and get the prisoners out.

Will's transmitter buzzed to life, "A little busy here, Connor!"

"What the hades did you do? The lot of us are just sitting here- I told anyone who asked that it was Nakamura's orders, so it must be you!"

"Be on the alert!" Will muttered back, "They know who we are!"

"Shit! Do we leave now or what?"

Will thought fast, "You guys sneak out first, you or Katie come back if you can, we're still going to get the campers out."

Austin shuddered to a stop and the other two followed. "We should split up, get as many of the campers out as we can," the boy said quickly.

"There's nothing for it," Will agreed and he watched his siblings make their desperate dash down separate corridors. Praying to anyone who could hear him that this would work, he picked a corridor down the middle and ran through it- right into a couple of guards.

"Grab him!" The two guards rushed forward to grab his arms but he slammed into them with his right one. He was a little dizzy from running on low levels, though, and they got a hold on him easily. He struggled but they pulled him down the corridor, muttering a mix of obscenities and instructions to one another.

They dragged Will to the lobby, a mash of grey with several white plastic chairs spread across the floor. With a flash of disappointment, he spotted Austin trying -but failing- to escape the clutches of two more guards, including the redhead that they'd seen earlier.

At least there was still Kayla.

"Where the hell are your friends?" A lean boy with blue eyes barked at them.

"Who knows?" asked Austin, earning himself an elbow smash to his mouth. The boy stifled a cry of pain.

"Get off my brother!" Will yelled, receiving himself a hit in turn.

"I will only ask this one more time." The boy hissed in a smooth voice. "Where are your-"

"Will!" Kayla screamed as she appeared from out of the corner. Will cursed in his head as she assessed the situation. Reaching into her pocket, she grabbed a lighter and a couple of stray fireworks.

Something wasn't right, he realised in panic as he took in her face: her eyes were wide with gleaming fear and she was trembling. A few more guards appeared to grab her but she took several steps back. "Fuck!"

As Blue Eyes made his way towards his half-sister, he saw her light the fuse on three of the fireworks- the really powerful ones- and send them spinning. They flew towards the walls of the prison, angled off their initial direction in front of the guards. In a swirl of blues and greens, they erupted into a fiery demon, churning out balls of blasting orange and yellow as they consumed the right wing.

From the corner of his eyes, through the haze and smoke, he spotted Katie making her way through the parking lot, running towards them. Stumbling a little behind her was Divyan. What the hades? His guard inhaled a blast of smoke and let go of him.

Kayla had a revolver out and was pointing it at the guards, "Get back!" She shrieked, "Get the fucking fuck back!"

The fires were spreading in a heathen dance, consuming the walls- it was a chaotic mess. One of the guards tackled Kayla, and the gun went spinning to the snow, getting covered in the glorious light.

Trying to fight off their captors, Austin and Will struggled as Katie and Divyan desperately tried to pull out the flames. Now Connor and Travis were making their way towards the chaos and it was a mess of swilling guards and them and the fire and the mountains-

"The prisoners are locked in!" Divyan yelped desperately as he rushed into the blaze, "I'm going to get them!"

Katie was trying to get clumps of snow onto the fire, but it wasn't working very well. Screams began to punctuate the air as the heat melted the snow in front of them. No one was being held by guards anymore, everyone was trying to escape the flames. Kayla staggered up to feet as she watched the flames eat up the building in horror.

"It's spreading towards the kitchens!" Vivian screamed, "Everything's on gas!"

Will felt his heart catch in his throats as the smell of burning flesh and metal caught in his lungs in mad waltz. His friends were in there and there was nothing he could do. The heat was too intense for them to enter, to even stand too close to the building.

The fire had caught a huge chunk of the building by now and there was nothing for it; there was no hope of rescue, not when the flames were so searing and all-consuming that to even stand in front of them would be deadly. They ran back from the blaze, tears streaming down their faces as the building burned, caught almost completely on fire by the vicious flaming devils.

Clarisse was lying against one the trees, her eyes shut. She'd fainted quickly after they had been brought out. The band realised that they were alone- the guards had probably fallen behind. Will clenched his eyes shut, willing the flames to stop- but there was nothing he could do, nothing any one of them could do. It had spiralled so insanely out of control, so madly fast.

He turned to Kayla, who was sobbing grossly. "Why the hades did you do that?" He demanded as the flames switched colours on her glassy face. "What the hades, Kayla!"

"I don't know!" She gasped, "I fucking panicked- I didn't mean for it to hit the wall, I just wanted it to distract the guards! I didn't think-"

"You didn't think!" He yelled back, "Damn right you didn't think!" But he couldn't shout at his sister as she lay in a trembling, crumpled mess. He stopped and turned back towards what had formerly been the Hills.

"Where's Divyan?" asked Travis.

Shit.

"He… He ran in." Austin whispered his voice hollow.

A shower of thick snow was descending, and they watched as the flames gradually grew softer and softer. Clarisse came to with a sputter. Confused, she glanced around, taking in the fire and ice. Katie, Connor and Austin went back to the building tentatively to see if it was safe to comb through the remains for hopeful survivors.

"What the hades is going on?"

Will glanced at Kayla, who had her face hidden in her hands as her shoulders shook. "The place accidentally caught on fire." He took a deep breath, wondering how to break this to her. "Divyan… He's dead."

Will saw the mountains, as they withered to dust in her eyes. "He isn't."

"I'm sorry, Clarisse but-"

"He isn't!" The girl yelled and he found himself watching as she turned to primal grief, feeling as if he was an intruder to her pain. "He can't be dead!" She shrieked, "The punk was alive just a minute ago!" She stared at him with large eyes. "What about Sherman?" She whispered.

"He died long before this." A distraught Kayla winced. "Clarisse, I'm so sorry…"

"No!" She stood up but her fatigue and weary state caused her to fall back down- Katie reached over and helped her up, pulling her into a sitting position. Will thought of the campers and the guards. None of them had deserved that hades, he was sure. The fire was still flying, but their deadly banner was lower now. They could see the charred remains of the prison, blackened and shrouded in a layer of crumbling ash.

"An army of seven!" Clarisse shouted into the silence, "Fucking good that will do." He saw tears stream down the girl's cheeks as she trembled.

Will clutched her shoulder and stood up, telling Kayla to stay with Travis and Clarisse while he went to help the others as they scouted through the rubble.

They sat and waited in the dying light of the flames, and they were numb.

ooOOoo

Ethan Nakamura was speeding- or going as fast as his jeep could take it- down the Hills when he saw the area erupt into hell through his windshield mirror.

Once the alarm had been raised, it took only a short while for guards to come in and check on the prisoners. They came into his unit and had discovered him lying pathetically, writhing in what had once been Travis's cell.

Of course, Ethan had hurried to alert Crafts, but the weather had been set to be stormy that night and he couldn't get a signal on both his laptop and his cell- the signals had flickered and ended up at a standstill when he'd tried even though Vivian assured him that they'd been fine not too long ago.

The weather had been set to stay insane for the whole of next day at least, so Ethan had hopped into one of the jeeps and instructed the rest of the guards to capture the escapees, convinced that between all of them they could manage the job. He hadn't seen any of them on his drive and the last he heard, they'd caught Will Solace; he assumed that the rest of them were still inside the building as well.

Now, he wondered what the hell was going on. He made to turn but remembered that the road was too narrow for him to make a round on the jeep. Pulling on another jacket- the snow had begun to fall thickly- fat white flakes obscuring his windshield in a wild dance and whispering as they fell onto the icy ground- he got out of the jeep and began the trek up the hill.

He knew that it was nothing good, from the size of the fire. He felt his heart curl in his chest like a frightened animal; his friends were back there.

The sky was the deep blue just before the sun fully broke out when he reached The Hills. The sight of the blackened structure teeming with death and decay hit him like a blaze to his chest and he staggered down into the ground, freezing and hollow.

_Where is your justice now, boy?_

Ethan wept bitterly for a while, thinking of the horror this place had seen; of screaming souls and curling flames. He wept for the lives torn away, and for what? For a bunch of rogue kids determined to obstruct justice.

Nemesis was also the goddess of revenge.

And revenge he would get.

ooOOoo

After sitting in the cold for a few more minutes, Will had finally gotten everyone up. Sorrow danced clearly on their faces and he found he couldn't look at Kayla. He took some extra jackets from his bag-pack and handed them to Travis and Clarisse; the girl, especially had an ashen face and dim eyes. Will wondered how they were going to get back; before the fire, he thought they could always grab a couple of jeeps and make their way back to the City, where they could find some more people and raise their army slowly, but surely.

Now though, there were only seven of them and they were stuck in the freezing cold. Two of them hadn't had proper meals at least two days; Clarisse for three months. They didn't have enough rations.

They were up in it pretty deep.

He felt the throbbing of a headache rise in his temple again and put his fingers to his head. He remembered Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew. Friends. And leaders.

He drew in a deep breath again and was going to call for a meeting when he saw, faintly through the snow, a clump of people.

As they came closer, he realised that they were a group of roughly ten girls with regal postures and proud expressions. One of them, a faintly middle-eastern looking one with almost-brown hair that curled under her chin and a silver circlet on her head looked towards him. Timber wolves circled around them.

"I am Rashidah." The girl said as her dark eyes took in the seven shivering demigods. She snapped her fingers and the wolves dropped to their haunches, their blue eyes bright in the gathering dark. Rashidah looked towards what had once been The Hills.

"Was this once the prison known as The Hills?" She asked her voice silvery.

Will nodded warily. "Yeah, it- it's gone now." He straightened his back. 'We were trying to get the prisoners out- we got two- but something went wrong. We went to check, but there were no... no survivors."

Rashidah's eyes travelled back to him, her expression unreadable. "Helping prisoners? You are demigods from the Camp?"

He nodded; the fire was a stray creature that was feasting sporadically on the charred remains now. "I'm going to look again- but first, who are you?"

Rashidah looked at Clarisse, who was sitting in a crumpled heap, glazed eyes staring out into the distance.

"We are the hunters of Artemis, and we have come to help."

The Hunters… No one had heard of them since Kronos had taken over; it was assumed that they'd been hunted down by Kronos, but Rashidah explained that they had gone into hiding. They had waited, gathering news and had found out about The Hills. They had gleaned the information regarding the prison and had made their way there.

After her tale, they walked amongst the ashes, inhaling the scent of burnt bodies. They all felt sick to their stomachs and as if their eyes had become creatures that would always burn too brightly from then on.

None had survived.

"Get the girl." Rashidah commanded two of her hunters as she gestured to Clarisse. "We'll move further downhill tonight and set up camp. Tomorrow we begin our journey."


	7. Peeling the River From Her Bones

Chris and Silena watched from their spot on the Hermes cabin porch as a Japanese boy with an eye-patch stalked into the camp, heading towards the Big Houses while deep in conversation with an angry looking Raymond Crafts. Their plan to escape for the hills had been spoiled when the four had escaped; as much as they wanted to rescue Clarisse, they didn't want to risk the lives of any of their siblings- they feared that what had happened to Austin would happen to them too; rumour was that Austin hadn't even been taken to The Hills, that they had put a bullet to his brain straight away, instead. Seeing the Demeter, Apollo and Hermes cabin hungry for the week had also deterred them, coupled with the increased security.

They also reasoned that the four campers who'd escaped had made their way to The Hills; they didn't think that it was a coincidence that Connor had decided to leave mere days after the capture of Travis.

"What the hades are we going to do now?" Silena murmured. The snow had fallen thickly the previous night and the ground and trees were covered in a pristine white gathering of the stuff. Her hand went to her pocket and she began stroking something inside it.

Chris's eyes widened as he grabbed her wrist. "Are you recording this conversation?" He demanded in an angry hiss, his eyes blazing, "What the hades, Silena!"

"I'm not!" She protested, both frustrated and vexed, "I'm not, Chris let go!"

He let her go reluctantly, but his expression was still wary. "What's in your pocket then, let me see!"

Silena sighed and unwillingly pulled out the object her fingers had flown to: it was a dove carved from bronze, delicate vines tracing its etched feathers.

Chris frowned at the object and Silena blushed. "Charlie… Charlie made it for me," she whispered, "before he… you know."

Chris winced. "Sorry, you can keep it… I just panicked."

She nodded but held the tiny dove in the palm of her hand; images dashed across her mind, of how Charlie had looked before he left for the Princess Andromeda, with the light filtering through the fluttering leaves of the trees on his face and-

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

Chris stared as Crafts opened the door to the Big House. The Japanese boy was gesturing wildly in the air and Crafts looked both furious and apprehensive.

"We fight." He said, tearing his eyes away from the scene as the snow began to fall softly again. "We take them down from the inside."

* * *

Travis trashed awake in the tent that the Hunters had set up. His flailing arm caught Connor who blinked his eyes as his awoke.

"What is it," Connor asked as his brother started breathing hard. "Travis, what's wrong?"

"It's… It's nothing." Travis whispered as he tried to steady himself. He had had a nightmare; the trees that surrounded The Hills had started spinning, dancing around him faster and faster in a blur of angry white and black. There had been a spot of pure light in the sky but he couldn't get to it, and Ethan Nakamura was there, slashing at him with a sword.

Connor raised an eyebrow. "Ass, I've known you since I was born-"

"You damn well should." Travis muttered, "I am older after all."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Seriously man, what-"

"I just had a bad dream." The two of them stared at the warm flames that the Hunters had set for them; outside, a blizzard was swirling but in here they were safe. Will had somehow disappeared and Austin was still heavily asleep. Shutting out the images of the burning prison from his eyes, Travis turned to Connor. "Hey man, I never said thanks for you know… Coming after me."

"Hey, I missed having someone to rag on. No one is as much of an idiot as you."

"Katie's an idiot."

"_Katie's an idiot_." Connor mimicked. "Yeah, but you're the worse, the lowest of the low." He paused. "Clarisse looked so… bad, man. I was shocked."

Travis nodded. "Of course, she just lost her brother. Divyan is… was a good guy. Plus she's been there way longer than me, I was there for what? Five days? I had scratches in the prison walls like in the movies and all of that shit."

"She'll be okay, right?"

"Yeah," Travis assured his brother. He looked young in the firelight, and he almost remembered him the way they were when they children; before all this demigod business, sitting on their mother's laps as she weaved stories from the air. "She's Clarisse, she's hard."

Connor nodded and they both lay back down on their sleeping bags, the fumes from the smoke cradling them back to sleep

* * *

It was midnight when they met in the secret bunker of the Hephaestus cabin. Chris had called Nyssa Ravi on board their plan, and a good thing too since she had a secure place for them to meet. Malcolm from Athena was there already, his eyes darting suspiciously at Silena who was pressed against the wall, stroking the dove.

Chris hadn't told any of them that Silena would be involved; he'd feared that no one would show up. Well except Malcolm that was; he had appealed to the boy's logical side.

Nyssa finally reappeared, shaking her black hair from her eyes. Drew and Mitchell appeared behind her.

"Wait, what the hades is that-" Drew jabbed her finger at Silena, her eyes narrowed, "doing here?"

"She's on our side, Drew." Chris said.

"You didn't tell me you were calling them," she said softly.

"Well, I thought they were a good choice!" He replied tersely. "And yes, Drew, I can trust Silena."

"I'm not too sure about this myself." Nyssa added, "Chris, how can you be sure?"

"Guys just trust me, okay! I was… with Luke before, but you guys trust me; why not her?"

"Maybe because she betrayed us when it mattered most?" Drew said icily, avoiding Silena's eyes. "Forgive us if we're not as trusting as you, Chris-"

Malcolm raised his hands, "Guys, let's just bury the hatchet for half a minute, okay? We're all here for our own reasons but we've got the same goals. Let's just try to trust each other."

Mitchell stared at Silena. "Tell me what made you change your mind?"

Silena hesitated, but she knew her brother would understand. "Charlie." She whispered. "Charlie and Clarisse; Luke lied to me, he told me I'd be saving lives-"

Drew scoffed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"- it's true! I still did wrong and I know it, but I want it to make right."

Silence fell over the group. Nyssa nodded. "We'll trust you, for now." Turning to Chris, she asked, "Well, what now?"

Chris shrugged, "Well, the plan is to bring down the Golden from the inside, but we haven't really got anywhere to start." He looked at Malcolm, "Any ideas, Athena?"

The boy shook his head. "We don't want to go too overboard, right? And we're stuck in camp, what's the most we can do?"

Nyssa shrugged, "Blow things up and make it look like an accident? But let's get to that later. We'll need to have a name; something to call ourselves."

"Well, yeah a name is something we call ourselves," put in Malcolm. Nyssa glared at him, grabbing a piece of yellow paper and a chewed pencil from the desk.

"You're going to put it here?" Chris asked, "What if one of your siblings comes down and sees?"

Nyssa raised an eyebrow. "I've only got two of them and I'm bringing them on board soon enough." When Chris made noises of protest, she held up her hands. "Look, you brought in Silena, alright?" She paused to shrug at the girl. "I can bring in whoever I want."

Chris raised his hands, "If you trust them."

"Yes. I do."

"Okay, name time." Mitchell said, casting Silena a semi-sympathetic look. Drew glared into the air, watching the dust fairies twist under the harsh light of the fluorescent lamp.

"I've thought of it…" Malcolm snapped his fingers, the thoughts dancing in front of his eyes. "Kronos has locked up all the Olympians, right?"

"Right." Chris frowned.

"But Olympus is not just about the Gods, it's about civilisation as well. And we're still here, we're still alive."

"Get to the point!" Drew huffed. "What do you want us to be called?"

Malcolm stared around at his friends, their faces lit up by the harsh greenish light.

"The Last Olympians."


	8. Butterflies in Plastic Bubbles

Before Will Solace entered his tent, one of the hunters snapped her fingers in front of him. "You're the leader of this group, aren't you, _boy_?" She sneered out the word.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Lieutenant Rashidah wants to speak to you."

Will wiped the sleep from his eyes, shook the drowsiness off his shoulders, and followed the girl into the largest tent; the outside was pale silver and it glowed jewel orange. No snow fell where they had set up camp: the hunters had set up some sort of magical borders using tools that Artemis had left them and he was grateful for it; the snow was madness outside, buzzing so thick and mad until he couldn't distinguish the trees from the air.

The hunter gestured him inside and he stepped in, immediately drenched in the sweet smell of incense.

"Thank you, Phoebe." Rashidah murmured from a cushion in the centre of the tent. Phoebe shut the curtains behind her as she left with a huff. Rashidah stared as the fabric rippled back into place before addressing Will. "Sit." She gestured to a pile of pillows in front of her and Will sat awkwardly. "You are tired."

"Yeah, we were kind of running around the whole day."

"This will only take a while." She held up a porcelain teacup with a dainty silver rim. "Tea?"

"Nah, but thanks."

Rashidah nodded, drinking from the cup herself. "What are you planning to do now?"

Will bit his lip, "We were planning to start an army, get the prisoners out and when everyone was strong enough, we'd take back Camp Half-Blood and find some way to defeat the Titans." A wave of pounding fatigue washed over him and he blinked in the smoke; he was so, so tired. "But we failed…" He muttered. "I failed."

Rashidah shook her head, her dark eyes keen. "You said it was an accident."

Will nodded, "But I should have planned it better, not just… We didn't know what we were doing."

"What is done is done, there is no use blaming yourself. You have your friends to lead. Leaders do not show weakness."

Will took a ragged breath before looking up at Rashidah. "Will you help us? We'll have a good head start, then."

Rashidah hesitated, placing the cup on the floor. One of the wolves came to her from the corner and lay down underneath her arm. With a troubled expression on her features, she stroked its white fur. "I think not, Will Solace."

"Why not?" He demanded, "Don't you want the Titans down-"

"I am not Zoe or Thalia!" Rashidah hissed, staring up at him. "No matter how much my hunters think I am trying to be them. I will not risk my hunters' lives."

"They've got _Artemis_!"

"Artemis is only one! I will not be leading my family into battle."

"You brought them here to save the prisoners; didn't you think that's dangerous?"

"I was leading them here to help the broken. It is different from leading them into war!"

"We can't do this alone," Will begged, "We're going to need help if we're ever going to defeat Kronos."

Rashidah looked at him with sad eyes. "I fear the battle is already lost. My hunters are all mortal. We are not hunted; all the demigods in our ranks were purged in the Battle. This is not our fight."

"This is everyone's fight!"

"You may be capable of leading your friends to destruction but I will not lead mine to death!" They realised that they were both standing and glaring at each other. "I am sorry, Will Solace."

Will sank bank down onto the pillows, deciding to change the subject for the time being. "How did you get the maps anyway?"

Rashidah seemed to be taken aback by the abrupt change in topic but she answered, "From one of Kronos's demigods in New York City."

"A spy for us?" Will asked hopefully.

Rashidah averted her eyes. "I slept with him. He was drunk and it was easy. My hunters were not pleased, but there was nothing else that could be done."

"Oh." Will blushed, avoiding her eyes as well. "Um, well, what's he doing now? Does he know that you got the information from him or was he too drunk-" Shut up, his brain muttered.

"I killed him." Rashidah said simply. "A bullet through his back; placed him on the street. They would think he was killed in a gang war. She paused, whispering to herself, "To save twenty lives I would take one."

"I don't want to seem like an idiot, but don't the hunters have to take some vow of eternal maidenhood or something?"

"I was doing it to help others. I will accept the consequence when it comes."

"I really don't understand you." Said Will, confused, "Nothing wrong with that, but I don't get why you do some things and don't do others-"

A faint smile lit up the girl's features. "When you've lived for over five hundred years, you begin to understand that no one can fully decipher the human mind or heart. We are all enigmas. Anyone who claims to know different is a fool. I don't understand it myself, but I know this: I will not lead my hunters to fight your war. And for that I am truly sorry."

Will nodded, letting the topic drop for the present. "Five hundred years… Where were you born?"

"My parents were Moorish. We lived in Spain during the Inquisition. My parents were killed for being different, for putting their faith in a different deity. Artemis found me, she saved me."

"Wouldn't you like to return the favour?"

Her eyes grew hard. "If it was I, alone, Will Solace, I would join you in a heartbeat. As it is, I am the leader of the Hunters and I have a duty, and I will not shirk from it or lead them to death. I have already explained. In a year my sisters have already lost Zoe and Thalia. They will suffer no more loss."

Will understood that his audience with the hunter was over and he rose to leave.

ooOOoo

Kayla was sitting outside her tent when Will was walking towards his. He caught her eye and felt a familiar flash of anger, but she looked lost and afraid so he sat down next to her. They watched the snow swirl in a ritualistic dance outside their campsite in a silence.

"Kayla," Will began, "I need to know what happened just now? You've been in battle before, and you were always fine. What happened?"

Kayla inhaled. "I don't fucking know, okay? I've always had other people fighting with me, always had someone next to me. When you and Austin were captured I was alone and I didn't know what to do…" She bit back a sob as it strained to escape her, "I panicked," she whispered, "I panicked; I was alone and I was afraid. I'm no Clarisse leading the troops to battle, I'm a coward! I think I'm hard shit and all of that, but I'm just a scared little girl…" She began to sob, her shoulders trembling. Will put his arm around her, feeling desolate. "Now they're all dead and it's my fault."

"It isn't." It was, but he wasn't going to tell that. "Kayla, if any of us ever get captured and you're alone, I'll need you to run instead."

"What?" She raised her head, her eyes wide.

"We can't risk what happened just now from happening again, I'm sorry but it's true," Ignoring her hurt expression, he hurtled on, hating himself. "You panic, Kayla, you saw what happened, alright? I don't want that happening again-"

"You sound like a fucking teacher!" She hissed. "Will, can you for shit's sake, can you please stop being the damn leader all the time!"

"Well what do you expect from me?" He demanded as the throbbing in his head continued. "I'm just a kid, Kayla!"

"I'm just a kid too, for Hades's sake!"

"I'm sorry, Kayla…" Will muttered. "You feel like shit and I know that, but you can't blame yourself, it won't bring them back. And I'm telling you the truth, I don't want to risk the rest of them. I'd rather you run instead of that."

"You don't trust me anymore." Kayla whispered, reaching her hand into her pocket for a cigarette. It was her last one.

"I'm too tired for this, Kayla." Will said, desperately trying to keep his eyes awake as his head swirled, _Lee could have saved them, he thought, Michael could have saved them. Not you, you're useless…_

Kayla stared out into the darkness, looking like a child teetering on the brink of a cliff. He gave her a half hug and stood up.

"I've got blood on my hands." She stared up at Will. "Fucking red hands."

"Then you'll have to wipe it off." He gave her a half-smile which she grudgingly returned.

Yawning, he went back to his tent and dropped to sleep immediately next to Austin, trying to wipe his screaming mind clean.

* * *

Ethan Nakamura and Raymond Crafts stared warily at each other as Crafts clicked the icon on his laptop screen. The golden eyes and handsome face of Kronos flickered to life.

"Lord Kronos," Ethan bowed, "I've got some bad news."

The Titan's eyes slowly grew stormy. "Spit it out, Nakamura."

"My Lord, the half-blood prison, The Hills, it has been destroyed." Nakamura clenched his eyes, waiting for Kronos to scream at him, and thanking grace that he wasn't there in person.

Kronos spoke in a calm tone however, flat and smooth like a still pond. "And how did that happen, Nakamura?"

Crafts responded, "Lord Kronos, there were some escapees from the camp as well. They broke into The Hills."

Kronos's knuckles tightened around the sword he was holding, but his demeanour was dangerously silent.

Ethan continued, "Something happened up at The Hills, an explosion. We're not sure if they survived, no one was left alive when I checked."

The Titan Lord glared at them both, his lips twisted in a cruel sneer. "Incompetent fools. You are lucky you are nowhere near me now." He looked at Ethan. "Your mother Nemesis will not be pleased. You came highly recommended but you have let us down."

Nakamura bowed his head as Kronos continued. "Tell the demigods nothing; keep the threat of the Hills alive. If anyone rebels, waste no time on them. Destroy them, away from Camp of course. I am done giving mercy to the wasteful and useless. We will continue the subversion of the remaining campers: they will eventually bow to me or bow to death."


	9. Where the Earth Falls to the Skies

The pale golden rays of morning sun illuminated the ground beneath her as Clarisse waited in front of a flickering fire for the rest of her friends to come out. She'd already eaten breakfast; it had been the first decent meal she'd had in weeks even though the Hunters had fed her sparingly (they hadn't wanted to risk shocking her dietary system and end up causing more harm than good). The first good night's sleep had also done its work.

The names and sights of the previous night still pounded in her head though, as it did with the others. Clarisse was torn up with grief and wanted to do nothing except curl up and cry for her brothers and for everyone who'd been lost.

But she reminded herself of who she was; she was a daughter of Ares and she was the fight personified.

So Clarisse LaRue glared out instead, feeling the familiar thrum of the battle pounding in her bones.

She was a daughter of Ares, and she would fight.

ooOOoo

Kayla was seated a little ways off the rest of her friends as they dug their spoons into their warm oatmeal. Their words were civil enough, but they belied resentment and she knew she couldn't blame them. She didn't think the ghosts would ever leave her alone; a little piece of her was grateful for the punishment, for it helped her with the guilt.

Her hands trembled as she lifted the metal spoon to her lips, hating herself.

ooOOoo

Rashidah had decided that they would be trekking down to the bottom of the hill. She provided sedans to carry Clarisse (despite her protests) and Travis, who weren't well enough to walk yet.

Will came up to talk to her as they ambled down through the snow, which had blessed them through the night with a heavy, cleansing fall.

"What are the Hunters planning to do once we reach the bottom of the Hill?"

"We will go back to New York City with you. I have a friend who will provide transportation."

"A friend?"

"He is a bus driver from Brooklyn; a third generation Russian. His name is Vlad- or that is what he wishes us to call him."

Will frowned, "Is he mortal?"

Rashidah nodded as the wind pulled strands of hair across her cheek. "He is one of the few mortal rebels- that we know, of course. He is old and cannot do much, but he does what he can and that is what matters."

"Wait- does Kronos have a camp for mortals who rebel?"

She shook her head, "Kronos pretends that he does, according to the… ah, source, we had… But in reality he cares naught for mortals except to rule them. A mortal rebel would be killed immediately. But they are, as a whole, treated better than demigods on the other side."

Connor came running up to them from behind. "Gods, these hunters look at me like I'm the plague or something."

Rashidah turned to look at him, "They are hunters. What do you expect?"

"Do you hate me too, then?" Connor raised an eyebrow.

"I do not hate men. I was never scorned by one and have no reason to hate them. If they help us, like Vlad does, then I will allow their help, even though the rest are loath to allow their aid."

Connor nodded and looked back at Katie who was discussing something with a scowling Phoebe. "Yo, Katie!" He shouted, "Come over here!"

"No!"

"Well, okay then." Connor shrugged, before turning back and screaming again, "You're missing out all the fun!"

"Thank Gods!"

"You suck!"

"Same to you!"

Rashidah looked at them with raised eyebrows as they continued their journey downhill. Will could've sworn that he heard her mutter something that sounded like, 'children'.

* * *

Ethan Nakamura was tossing in a fitful slumber when his dreams of burning buildings and charred bodies twisted into the form of his mother who was sneering at him from the other side of an abyss.

"Ethan." She hissed, sounding like she was standing right next to him.

"Mother." He murmured as he bowed.

"You have sworn revenge, my son. Revenge on those who destroyed your prison."

Ethan nodded. "That is, if they are still alive."

Nemesis lifted her lips. "That they are."

"Then they will have justice."

His mother paused, her hands tracing the sky as her eyes hardened. Staring back at her son, she asked, "What do you know of justice, boy?"

"You're my mother." Ethan replied. "I think I know a little bit." He pointed at his eye-patch.

"If a man slits the throat of another, is it justice for the same to be done to him?"

Ethan inclined his head in agreement and Nemesis continued.

"If a man kills the son of another, is it justice for his own son to be killed in payment?"

A chill began to inch its way up Ethan's spine. "I don't- the son, he didn't do anything. He shouldn't have to be brought in. Right?" He asked desperately.

Nemesis shrugged, "Who draws the line between justice and revenge, boy?"

"Don't you?"

The goddess laughed; it was a harsh and scraping sound. "Is Kronos justice or is Kronos revenge?"

"You tell me." Her son muttered, "You joined up with him in the first place."

"He gave us the respect denied for centuries; it was balance for the Gods to fall and a new age to rise. Whatever it is, it is fair, Ethan. It is fair to me."

Ethan frowned, looking at her form, which had started to flicker against a backdrop of purple skies. "I just want justice, no matter who it is dealt to."

Nemesis smiled against, the corners of her lips creeping up her porcelain skin. "Payment, Ethan."

Ethan staggered back, the phantom eyeball throbbing painfully. "What kind of payment?" He asked warily.

His mother laughed again, but the sound was lighter this time. "You have already paid, son… I promised you would tip the scales of justice."

"Haven't I done that already with the defeat of Percy Jackson?"

"The scales are not yet balanced." She began to wave her hand, whipping the air into a thin mist that was shrouding her from his view.

"I thought you fought for balance!" Ethan shouted desperately, "Isn't this balance already!"

Nemesis clutched the air and cast her son one final look, "It is fair; fair to me."

* * *

It had been a whole week since Travis had first been taken and everything else had fallen into place. The date was the eighth of December and it was a pale Tuesday afternoon when they reached the bottom of the hill.

"What are waiting for?" Clarisse asked- she had demanded to be allowed to walk, and she had done as much as she managed; only going back to the sedan when she really needed to. Already, she was looking stronger. Weak, still, but stronger.

"Vlad." Rashidah said simply.

"A drunken fool." One of the hunters muttered; Will had noted that not only had the Hunters been avoiding the boys, but also their leader.

Rashidah turned around. "Without Vlad, we might have not come this far. Show the man some respect." The hunters tossed her sour looks.

Next to them, Travis and Connor were playing a game of tap-the-shoulder with a vexed Katie Gardner. Everyone acted as if they didn't remember the burning of The Hills; but in reality the dreams came to visit them as they slept and they woke. However, they still had a long road ahead of them and they just had to keep occupied with other things instead of drowning in the grief and failure; and guilt, in Kayla's case.

A coughing plume of grey smoke rasped out the corner of the road, accompanied by a clacking sound, A yellow school bus came into view and hurtled to a stop in front of the group.

Rashidah smiled at Will. "Vlad."

The Hunters reluctantly made their way up the bus first and Vlad poked his head out of the driver's window. His grey hair was caught underneath a tattered baseball cap and his face was leathery and lined. "Waited long?"

"Not very much." Rashidah said, gesturing the rest to go up first. They took the seats nearest to the driver's; the other hunters were clumped together at the back. The bus smelled strongly of alcohol. "You are not drunk, are you?" she chided the bus driver, who chuckled.

"Younger than me by more than half and acting like my mother!" He said to the group. Rashidah smiled grudgingly.

"Can I have a sip?" Connor muttered as Travis reached a hand out for one of the cans on the dashboard. Katie slapped his hand and he glared.

"Nope, you're not driving." Vlad grinned, showing off his lack of teeth. Katie's eyes flew open.

"So you _are_ drunk?" She squeaked.

"He is just having a jest with you." Rashidah confirmed.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow, "Having a jest?"

Travis elbowed Connor. "Dude, stop having a jest with me- that joke was awful!"

Will leaned forward again, "Where are you hunters going to go once we hit New York?"

"We'll be fighting Kronos, of course!" Clarisse said.

"He wasn't talking to you, dimwit-" Connor rolled his eyes, earning himself a punch; granted, it didn't hurt as much as it would have had Clarisse not gone away, but still.

"We won't be yet," Will said to her, "We need a plan."

"Much good our plans do us." Connor muttered.

Rashidah ignored them, thinking. "I will not go to battle with you, or join your army… But if you need a strong force, you will need weapons."

"I know a guy in New York," Clarisse shrugged. "He deals with guns and stuff, my dad-"

"His name's Peter?" Travis asked, "Cause Connor and I know a Peter who-"

"Yeah, Peter from Harlem? How d'you guys know him-"

"Real weapons." Rashidah broke in, glaring at the Stolls. "Celestial bronze. Things that would truly defeat monsters."

Vlad chuckled, "I always knew that the monsters were real. They called me crazy in school; wanted to lock me up. Me!" He banged the dashboard, looking back at them with intense eyes. "Me, can you believe it?"

"No." Said Connor.

"He has the sight." Rashidah said, "The rest of the mortals think they have been invaded by a sort of civil-unrest group, but Vlad can see what the monsters really are."

"Where are we going to get celestial bronze in New York?" Clarisse frowned.

"Have you heard of the labyrinth?" Rashidah asked.

Clarisse paled. "Why the hades do we need the labyrinth?"

"You scared, big girl?" Travis asked.

"Why don't you shut that mouth?"

Will glared at Travis. _Chris_, he muttered.

"If you know of the labyrinth, you know of the workshop of Daedalus."

"Yeah, but that was destroyed summer of last year."

Rashidah nodded. "So we have heard. The branches of the labyrinth have been sealed off, that is true- but the workshop still remains. Just the workshop, the maze has been destroyed. Many of the creations of Daedalus would be kept there, weapons that you could use to your advantage when you go back to regain your Camp."

"Screw weapons," said Clarisse, "Let's just go back and find a way to contact the rest of the campers-"

"We're not strong enough!" Will protested, remembering the flames curling at flakes of night sky, "We _have_ to plan, Clarisse. Better we go back after a while, strong, than go back and ruin everything." Across from him, Kayla bit her lip.

"Wars are won with the courage of soldiers." Clarisse shot back.

Vladimir raised his head, "They're won with both, kids. Trust me, I was in one."

Rashidah nodded. "I will help you if you decide to go hunting for the workshop."

Will put it to a vote and everyone agreed to it, even a reluctant Clarisse.

"Did Percy or Annabeth ever say where the workshop was located in?" Katie asked.

"I might have overhead them talking about it after the Battle of the Labyrinth," Clarisse mused. "I think they said something about the Garden of the Gods?"

"That is in Colorado Springs." Rashidah said. "Artemis told us once before, I remember it."

Vlad piped up, "I'm not bringing you kids to Colorado, you know- I've got stuff to take care of in the city."

"Will we be able to fly?" Austin asked Vlad, "Do they still allow take-offs from New York?"

"If you've got the money," Vlad said, "From what I hear, the new regime is still allowing a bit of leeway. They'll be checking records for interstate travel very thoroughly though- and out-of-country leaves aren't allowed- so I don't know if you've got an ice cube's chance in hell."

"We know a guy who makes fake passports and records though." Connor said.

"Why is no one surprised?" Katie muttered.

"I bet if we can find him he'll be able to hack into the system and help us get new identities. His name's Deuce and he's the best you've ever seen. Including like, anyone in our cabin, which is saying a lot."

Vladimir shifted in his seat, "Deuce don Pedro of the Bronx? Short kid, about your age? Mohawk and chains?"

"Yeah, but we'll have to find him though."

"No one's seen him in weeks! I used to supply him with… things." The bus driver said. "Tell you what, I'll drop you kids off at Bronx, and stick around long enough for you to find- or figure out you can't find- don Pedro. Deal?"

The sky was darkening as the dusk began to fall like summer rain over the deep sky. The group rested their heads against the windows and drifted off to sleep.

_Author's Note: This story was completed before the release of Mark of Athena, so if Nemesis appears to be out of character, remember that at this time she was simply an interpretation and should be treated as such._


	10. Hear the bells, child

Night had fallen when Vlad pulled his bus into the Bronx. Will was nudged awake by Connor and he stretched his arms out in front of him, blinking in the small yellow glow of the in-light of the bus. Around him, his companions awoke.

Snow was coming down in thick washes around them and they were grateful for Vlad's built-in heater. Katie pressed her face against the smudged windows as she stared through the swirl of snow and dark. "How are we going to find don Pedro through all of this?"

Travis came to sit next to her, squinting. "He used to stay there, I think?" He frowned as he pointed to a façade of harsh brick. Connor nodded.

Vlad laughed again, popping a bottle open. "Used to, kid. If he's still there no one in hell has seen him in a long while. Listen, he's probably run off. We'll have heard if he still was here; people would be coming up to him all the time."

Travis grinned, "But a needle in a haystack, yes? C'mon Vlad, _think like a_ _thief._"

Before the bus driver could respond, a noise at the back jolted the group from its reverie.

A tense silence had crept over the bus.

The Hunters stood in a solemn group, their expressions marble and their bags slung over their shoulders. Phoebe was in the lead. Frowning, Rashidah stood up from her position beside Will. "Yes, Phoebe? Is there something you wish to tell me?"

"We are leaving, _Lieutenant." _Rashidah's face paled as fear and confusion began to wake up in her features.

"What do you mean, leaving? I have not ordered anything of the kind! We still have to help…"

"You help them, then!" Phoebe snarled. "We put it to a vote while you were here consorting with boys!"

"I had my reasons, Phoebe and you know them very well!"

"You have broken your vows to Artemis already." The girl stated, her eyes flicking over to Will. "Who knows how many other vows you have broken-"

"Hey." Fuming, Will stood up next to Rashidah. "She hasn't done anything…"

"Silence, boy!" Phoebe's eyes raked Rashidah's face. "You are longer one of us, Rashidah. And so we will leave." Desperation's claws raked the air as the rest of them stared at one another in shock and confusion.

"What the hades do you mean leaving?" Clarisse demanded; the Hunters ignored her.

"You can't." Rashidah whispered, her eyes begging through the hardness of her face. "Phoebe-"

But the girl had already opened the doors and a blast of frigid wind crushed the bus as the hunters left. The others watched helplessly as the last of them dropped into the snow outside; her dark hair swirling with the white flakes of the storm before the doors of the bus slammed shut again.

Rashidah trembled over to the door, screaming out into the night, "Phoebe! Sisters! Come back this instant, come back-" Her voice broke on the last word, leaving it dangling there hopelessly.

The silence fell over them as they blinked; it had all happened so damn fast and now they were alone again in the tiny bus shut up against the elements.

Rashidah hastily blinked the tears out of her eyes and erased the vulnerability with an expression of war. "I should have foreseen this happening. I was a fool." She said simply as she shut the door.

"They're being idiots. Who needs them, anyway?" Clarisse growled in disgust. "Only cowards run from a fight-"

"Don't call my hunters-" Rashidah began but Will stood up to prevent the oncoming fray.

"No matter," Rashidah proclaimed again as she turned her face towards the door. "They have gone. What is next?"

"We've got to find this don Pedro guy, right?" Will asked the Stolls, who nodded.

"Yeah," Connor began awkwardly. "I'm telling you, the best way to find this guy is to look where he was last." Vlad shrugged as he poured the amber liquid down his throat.

"You can try, kid."

"I'll bring Travis and we'll just go." Connor stood up but Will shook his head.

"Travis, you should stay. It's getting really bad out there and you're still weak. I'll go with you."

"I am coming as well." Rashidah muttered. Clarisse made to stand but Will shook his head.

"Same as Travis, Clarisse."

"Hades," the girl retorted, "If you think I'm missing…"

"Stay here and hold down the fort?" Will asked. Clarisse glared on but finally nodded, the fatigue in her face evident as she settled down, wincing. Will looked towards Austin, "Anything, you know what to do, right?" The younger boy nodded. Will's eyes met Kayla's for a second before they danced away to avoid the hurt on her face. "Be back in a bit."

Connor pushed the doors of the bus shut tight behind him as the winter winds attacked them like wolves on a hunt. They drew their collars up against their lips as they trembled and ran through the biting snow towards the brick building that Connor had pointed out earlier. Through the swirl, Will thought he could make out shadows slipping across the few lights that blinked in the space. He hadn't quite realised it before, but the silence that had enveloped New York was new and menacing. Oh, this wasn't Morpheus putting the city to sleep as it had been in the last battle; and that somehow made it more chilling, that they were awake in the silence.

Slipping a little, they made it to the entrance and pounded hard on the wooden doors. A slat of honey light fell through as the doors were opened slightly. The backlight lit up the sharp features of a boy with cropped hair who squinted at them before gesturing them in.

They fell through the entrance in relief as they were masked in the warm musty air, the cold a memory behind them.

The boy glared; his sharp features inlaid onto his coppery skin. "And who the hell are you?" He demanded. The tip of a silver revolver was clear underneath the lad's trench coat.

"Deuce," Connor coughed as he brushed stray specks of snow off his shoulders, "don Pedro. He here? We're- I'm a friend of his…"

The boy laughed, "Bullshit! Anyone can claim that and go all 'man, I'm a pal of don Pedro's, he here? Only I want him to help me forge some shit.'"

"It's true!" Connor protested.

"We have to see him," Will accentuated, "It's important."

"He's not here, anyway." The boy cocked an eyebrow, "He left when those guys took over…"

"Aw that's crap!" Connor insisted. "Deuce would never leave the Bronx. Not for anything."

A curious expression came to play on the boy's face. Connor drew up his sleeve, exposing his left shoulder where a swirling mark was etched onto his skin.

"There, okay? Deuce don Pedro owes me and my brother. We go way back, went to get this mark together when we were fourteen. It's the work of-"

"Jeremy Chan." The boy nodded. "That's his work, I know it. I've seen it before on don Pedro's shoulder." Squinting, he looked at them; they could sense his thoughts beating against his skull. Finally his face softened. "Fine, c'mon." Leading them down a couple of flights of stairs, he brought them to a gnarled trapdoor. "Very old-age spy movie." He muttered as he swung the entrance open.

"Hey, don Pedro!" He yelled down- greenish lights were emitting from the room. "I've got a kid here who says he knows you and I'm bringing him down." He gestured for the three to descend, "If you're shitting with me," He muttered, "If you are, we open fire and make no mistake."

They went down the ladder; Connor first, then Rashidah and finally Will. The room was covered by ghastly wallpaper, and the lights were coming off at least three computer screens.

"Travis?" A voice broke out from behind a desk and a short boy came out; he had an impish grin in his merry eyes and two dimples that twinkled when he spoke. "Travis Stoll?"

"Connor, actually." The two boys exchanged a complicated handshake.

"Hell, man." Deuce grinned, "Thought you were up in Long Island or something- wherever the hell you go, anyway. Haven't heard from you since this new regime and stuff, feared the worst, man."

"Was, but thing is, we're in a bit of a… ah, situation. These are my friends anyway, Will and Rashidah. Guys, don Pedro."

Deuce nodded, running his finger across his bottom lip. "Yeah, so what do you need? Normally I don't see anyone, but I do owe you and your brother." In aside to the other two, he put in, "These idiots saved my ass back in the day from a couple of dumbasses who kept insisting I stole some of their cash. Nearly got turned into the shit they serve in school lunches." Before Connor could reply, Deuce threw his hands into the air. "Shit, I just remembered!" He ran back to one of his desks and pulled out a piece of paper. Staring at Will, he thrust it into his hands. Will stared down at a picture of him next to Austin; they were rectangular pictures, the kind you'd find in passports. The words "Fugitives" along with further details- including a reward- were emblazoned in thick blocks of black at the bottom. "Thought you looked familiar! These just came out today."

"Yeah," Said Connor. "About our troubles? This is it. Escaped prisoners."

"Hold the hell up!" Deuce countered. "Start from the beginning."

"You know those prisons…"

"The ones they bring those rebels to?" Deuce asked; Rashidah and Will exchanged a glance, remembering an earlier conversation. Connor nodded.

"Travis was in one- he's fine now- but we're all on the run on account of that. Like, we helped him escape. And we need fake documents, Deuce; we're planning to go to Colorado Springs."

Deuce frowned taking it all in, "Wait, why the hell do you want to go to Colorado Springs?"

"We need to meet someone from there." Will ad-libbed. "Will you help us? Please?"

Deuce nodded. "Favour repaid and all that, but to make the documents it'll take at least twenty fours, I need to hack in and all."

"You've never done that before?" Connor smirked, "Hard to believe."

"Eh, not really. See, if I've done it lots of times, the bastards would've been on to me… Or changed the system to make it more challenging or something. I've been saving my skills for something big and I guess this is it." He frowned. "Just the three of you?"

"We've got some friends waiting outside," Connor said. "I'll bring them. And um, you know Vlad?"

"Means well but god, he's a pain." Deuce winced. "Why?"

"Well he kind of knows where you are now."

Deuce nodded sharply, "Ah well. He's decent anyway."

* * *

When Raymond Crafts pushed the main door of the Big House open that icy morning, he was faced with a cluster of his Golden and some of their monsters. Fear and apprehension, anger and disbelief were waiting in their ranks. Raymond felt a twinge of discomfort. "What in hell's name is going on?" He demanded.

A dracaena pointed a finger to the door; Raymond turned to face it and took in a sharp breath of fury. For painted on the door in silvery ink was a tiny image that beat on drums of silent victory.

The mark of Olympus.

* * *

It turned out that the name of the boy who had met them at the entrance was named Paul and he also turned out to be a wicked make-up artist. By the time he had his way with the eight of them- Vlad had cursed at knowing don Pedro had been under his nose the whole time before cheerily bidding them farewell- they looked unrecognisable.

"Smile, sweetheart." He winked sarcastically at Connor as he snapped a picture; Deuce was going to use them as their fake personas.

"Love to." Connor purred as he put on a sultry expression.

Deuce frowned as his fingers flew over the keys of the computer, talking as he typed. "New York's shit nowadays, like yeah we're not going hungry or any of that- yet, anyway- but we're not exactly free birds either. They have a hard-core resistance somewhere here, but I'm not it in."

"No guts?" Clarisse asked. Deuce glared.

"I'm more of a behind the scenes man, sweetheart. And they do bad things to the guys they catch. Anyway, you can use a fake account I set up way back to book the tickets. You'll owe me after this shit is over." He glanced at the Stolls as he tossed them a credit card. "Apart from that, there's nothing I can do except pray." He looked up sympathetically.

"This is enough, man." Connor said stepping up to look as Deuce continued to pound the keys.

"I guess you can rest here for the time-being. Get some sleep and all, food and stuff." He raised an eyebrow at Travis. "Especially you, you look like shit, no offence."

Travis winked. "I try."

* * *

Raymond cursed as he swung over a cup of steaming coffee. Ethan watched as the liquid stained the carpet a bleeding brown. Raymond's eyes were blazing with mad fury as his lips curled in hellfire anger.

"What the hell am I supposed to do? It's all gone downhill since the bastards escaped!" He hissed.

Ethan shrugged, trying to shake off the memory of his previous night's dream, which clung to him like a shroud. "I don't know… Find out who did this?"

Raymond raised his eyes to meet him. "You think this is easy, Nakamura? If I don't do this well, everything I fought for will be gone! Kronos will kill-" He took in a calming breath. "I have to figure this out." Ethan could feel the fear running out of the boy's skull; he could see it as it danced in the air.

"Who do you think is responsible?" Raymond asked- almost begging. "We can't let this continue- they can't go around like this, they're under Kronos!" The boy pressed his shaking fingers against his shut eyes and when he opened them, he looked almost transcendent. "It's that Aphrodite girl- Silena something, the one who spied for us. She's been close with that Chris what'- his-name, recently. I've never seen them talk until like, a week ago, when everything began. Suspicious, I think."

"Rodriguez?" Ethan frowned, "I knew him back on the Princess."

Raymond nodded, relieved. "It's a damn good lead, believe me. I'll keep a further eye on them to confirm. I'm willing to bet my life that it's them. They might even be connected with the escapees."

Nakamura nodded numbly. A couple of the Golden entered the room with a bucket of brown paint; they'd painted over the symbol, hiding it without fuss to avoid talk and a big stir.

* * *

Outside, as they both stood at opposite ends of the pavilion, Mitchell and Nyssa caught each other's eyes and winked as Malcolm shook his head to hide the little seed of triumph and apprehension that was growing in his throat.


	11. There's something hiding in the earth

The meal they'd just had was a good one, and the lot was feeling rested and at home. It was about one in the morning and Deuce was still working through the system, a can of red bull beside him as his feet tapped the group in a meteoric rhythm in tune to the alternative rock blaring in his ears.

Travis, Connor and Katie were sitting lazily in front of the fireplace- Deuce's room was only a part of the comfortably-sized basement. Clarisse plunked down next to them on a beat-up beanbag chair, her eyes surveying the room.

"He has everything in here." Clarisse mused, "How the hades do you two know him, anyway?"

"You forget what Hermes rules over." Travis chuckled as he pelted little pieces of paper at Katie who sat half-asleep, the flames flickering in her eyes. "Thieves and wanderers, I bet dad wishes Deuce was his own kid."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow and Connor piped up, "We were just kids when we met- before we started living at Camp. Mom used to have a place nearby Deuce's… before she died, anyway. We grew up alongside the idiot."

Travis continued, "Then mom got sick and dad finally came down for. We had to give Deuce some shit about how we had to go live with our dad in Long Island. Still kept in touch, though. How couldn't we? We've saved each other's asses plenty of times. In fact, he loves us and secretly worships us, I bet, but that's a secret."

Clarisse shrugged, her thoughts drifting. "Gods, I wonder what the hades is happening at Camp."

"More of the same shit, I guess." Travis yawned.

"I'm worried about my siblings." Katie agreed as she jolted awake; she glared at Travis as she removed the paper pieces from her hair and clothes.

"Siblings." Clarisse intoned as she laughed wryly. Thoughts of her brothers drifted in front of her eyes. "Gods," She muttered as she stood, "I can't wait to finally be out there fighting."

ooOOoo

Kayla was next to Deuce, doodling absentmindedly on a piece of paper when the boy finally jabbed a fist in the air.

"I have fucking done it!" He rejoiced, lifting up Kayla's palm to high five the girl. She arranged her features into a grin as he turned excitedly back to the screen; but not before peering back at the paper. Deuce frowned as he stared at the flames etched into the canvas. "Wow, someone's got a dark imagination."

"I wish it was an imagination."

"What do you mean?"

Kayla frowned as the beast began to claw its way out of her mind again. "It's just that… I've done things I'm not proud of." On long fingers and with pale eyes it made its way down her spine.

Deuce winked. "Haven't we all?"

"Not like this, trust me. Fuck, you've never done anything like this. Even if it was just a godsdamn accident." Kayla muttered, drawing the pencil harshly across the paper, scratching out the scribble.

"Godsdamn?"

"Goddam." Kayla quickly replied.

"Well if you won't tell me what it is-"

"I won't."

"Well, anyway. Can't do anything about it now, right?"

"I can correct it." Apollo's daughter whispered.

ooOOoo

Will had just come out of a talk with Paul when he spotted Rashidah sitting alone in the room opposite where the rest were. Her eyes were glassy in the flickering light of an electric blue bare bulb. The eclectic buzzing of a fly hissed and sparkled.

"Hey." He said softly, sitting down next to her. He was always unsure of what to do in situations like this; comforting people was what he had done many times for his cabin when they lost Lee and then Michael, but it had never actually came naturally to him.

"Hello." The girl said, resting her head against the wall.

"Do you still want to come with us to Daedalus's workshop?"

"Where else will I go? I said I would join you lot, in any case."

Well, he wasn't very good at this. "I just meant that if you wanted to go join your Hunters, it's not too late. You've done a lot for us, already."

"It is too late." She said simply.

"I'm sure that if-"

"It is done!"

They sat in awkwardly in silence for a minute before Rashidah spoke again, her eyes fixed on the fly as it swooped around the lamp in a primal waltz. "Do you ever feel like a failure?"

_Will, sweetheart, you are a failure. Rushing in without a plan, what the hades were you doing? What the hades are you doing, Will? Do you even know? You lousy, useless-_

"Sometimes, yeah."

"I have let my sisters down. You know that you have been a bad leader when your very own have cast you out."

Will frowned. "You haven't been a bad leader; it's just that everything… Well, everything just came down all at once though. You're just a kid, don't beat yourself up."

Her lips quirked up. "I am not actually a child, you are aware? I have been alive for centuries."

Will pondered on that. The thought of spending eternity never changing as your friends grew old and died without you; as everything changed but you still remained the same, was kind of creepy to him. "Does it ever get old? Wait I don't mean that you're old, just that, well not that you're _young_… Ah, shit."

Rashidah snorted, "Stop speaking."

Will nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I should get some rest. We all should, we've got a long day ahead of us." He pushed himself up and began to walk back to Deuce's room, where he had set up a couple of sleeping bags for them.

_Incompetent fool._

* * *

_Incompetent fool._

Ethan shook his head again as he set down his plate in front of him. It was the ninth of December and he was having dinner. He reminded himself of these facts again as he raised a cup of water to his lips.

Next to him, Raymond Crafts kept a beady eye on the Aphrodite table. Something in the boy's smooth profile reminded Ethan of his mother as the leader stared at Silena Beauregard. As far as Ethan could tell, the girl was still a pariah to everyone in Camp, except Chris Rodriguez. He did admit that it was suspicious.

He still remembered the first time he saw her; she had been a trembling waif as the rest of Kronos's demigods assessed her. With her delicate features and innocent aura, it had been hard for them to believe that this was the spy. The desperation and determination in her eyes when Luke had handed her the scythe, however, told them a very different story.

Ethan had heard of course, about the death of the girl's boyfriend- he'd been with that Percy Jackson boy on the Princess when it blew up- and about her eventual betrayal attempt. As was fair, of course, Luke- no, _Kronos_ had punished her. Cruelly. Of course, he hadn't said a word in protest; he had thought it was fair. That was just the way the world worked: punishment for the guilty.

But if Nemesis was to be believed, the scales were not yet in balance.

And it was up to Ethan Nakamura to change that.

ooOOoo

"Malcolm told me what you and Mitchell did." Chris muttered as he stood in line next to Nyssa as they waited for their next class. His eyes settled on the archway that set them apart from the world; its wooden top heaped with fresh snow. The fading forest looked almost magical and surreal.

Nyssa grabbed a hank of hair and stuffed it under her bandana. "Yeah, so?"

"This is serious." He pressured, making sure no one was hearing them. "We were supposed to do serious things, not leave stupid symbols-"

"You haven't planned anything yet, anyway!" He glared at her and her voice dropped. "Mitchell and I got bored of waiting. Let me know when _you_ think of something. At least we sent a message." Nyssa gave him a final scorching look before stalking away.

Chris thought of Clarisse again; his new best friend Worry draping her arms across his shoulders and lungs. He had never felt so helpless.


	12. Powders, moths and leaves

"Ugh." Clarisse nodded appreciatively as she looked at her made-up self in the mirror. The documents were ready and they'd been set up as their personas for the flight. "I look really bad."

"What's new?" Connor said as he grabbed the mirror from her, raising his eyebrows at his reflection. Clarisse jammed a fist into his shoulder and he winced. "It's sad that you guys have to go without my natural good looks for this trip but what to do, eh?"

"Idiot." Katie muttered as she snatched the mirror from him. "You can't recognise me, right?" She asked worriedly, "I mean, there's no way we look like… ourselves, right?"

"Quit worrying." Travis replied. "Worry about me, if anything. I'm not used to looking any less handsome than I've been all my life."

"You two are full of shit." Austin snickered as he took the mirror from Katie and set it down on the table.

"Ready?" Will asked he tucked his own documents into his pockets. His name was to be Samuel Robertson and they were a bunch of college friends going back to their hometown for the holidays. Apparently, the window for visiting times was universal for the country; each person could only stay a maximum of two days before they had to head back to their registered address. But he supposed they'd have to work their way around that.

The morning sun filtered in through the stained glass window of the foyer. They hadn't noticed it the night they came in, but something about the dappled patterns on the ground calmed and lifted them. A bleary eyed Deuce came out the basement, Paul behind him. It had taken a little longer than expected; the first barrier he'd broken through had led to several more. It was now Thursday afternoon.

"You guys set? Paul will drive you to the airport."

"Yeah, pretty much."

Travis and Connor exchanged their routine handshake with their friend. "Make it back safe, idiots." Deuce muttered. "There's still a host of places we haven't broken into."

The three of them broke apart as the rest of the group thanked Deuce who waved his hand and bade them a final goodbye as he descended back into his den.

They piled silently into Paul's car as he turned on the engine. They could see soldiers patrolling the streets and stationed at various buildings.

"Anyone asks, just hand over your papers." Paul said. "It's the usual around here- no papers, its prison for you."

"Prison." Will muttered, remembering his conversation with Rashidah about what Kronos really did to his mortal prisoners. A group of schoolchildren was led across a crossing by a couple of guards, their young faces expressionless.

Unlike the past week, the snowfall now was non-existent; the air crisp instead of biting.

"The flight's at three, right?" Paul asked as the car began to trundle down the road. "Should be enough time."

One of the "Fugitive" posters flew onto his windscreen- the faces etched on this one were Austin and Kayla's. "Perfect." Travis muttered as they drove on.

ooOOoo

The airport was busy, but not the usual bustling port that it was once was. Everything was silent, whatever voices that rose fell quickly within the walls.

"I guess this is it." Paul said as they got out the car.

"Thanks, man." Will replied as he shut the door behind him. They waved goodbye as Paul drove off before entering, their footsteps unnaturally loud as they echoed off the tiles.

Everything went smoothly enough, though and they made it to the waiting area in relief, sitting down on the plastic chairs. The time was two-fifteen.

"Hey, Austin?" Katie whispered urgently. Will raised an eyebrow, "I mean Abe?"

"Yeah?"

"That guy in the fedora keeps staring at you."

Austin raised an eyebrow at Connor and Travis, "Well? Who's good looking now?"

Katie huffed, "That's not what I meant!"

"I'll tell him to mind his own business." Clarisse offered.

Kayla shook her head, "He's gone back to his paper." Everyone looked at her; she had spoken very little since the incident with The Hills. She drew her eyes back to the ground.

Will nudged her, "You thirsty? I've got some water in my bag if you want it. You sound kind of croaky."

"Thanks." She muttered gratefully as she stretched to get it.

After more minutes of agonising waiting and worry, it was time for them to board. Deuce had gotten them seats in pairs apart from each other: Will and Rashidah, Kayla and Katie, Travis and Connor, Austin and Clarisse.

They gave each other a final glance as they made their way silently to the seats.

"Shit," Kayla nudged Katie, squinting. "Is that the guy who was looking at Austin?"

Katie nodded anxiously. "What do we do?"

"Nothing. He could just be checking him out, who knows. Let's just keep an eye out." Katie nodded and the two looked at each other awkwardly before nestling into their seats.

In the spaces directly in front of them, Travis and Connor were nudging each other for gods knew what reason. Katie gave the back of their seat a hard kick and they resumed the peace.

The usual procedure took place; the stewardess instructing them on in-flight safety, the usual smooth voice welcoming them on board… The effect was somehow marred by a pair of guards who were patrolling the aisles alongside the stewards, however.

"Papers." One of them muttered, stretching a hand out to Kayla. She reached into her bag and drew out the documents, willing herself not to panic. Gods, she needed a cigarette. After a few silent minutes, he handed her the documents and continued down the aisle. Kayla breathed again.

The plane began to roll down the runway, bumping along the nicks before it began its ascent. Only when the plane had sunk itself into the sky did they began to breathe calmly again.

* * *

"New plan." Mitchell muttered, eyes twinkling. "You know that flag they have over the Big House, with Kronos's symbol?"

Nyssa nodded.

"We take it down and replace it with something of our own." He winked.

Nyssa grinned, "You _do _have a death wish. But okay."

Malcolm came up to them, frowning. "You know it looks suspicious for the two of you to be fraternising?"

"Oh shut it, Athena." Nyssa hissed. "You ratted us out to Chris."

"Please, I had to! You two have been jeopardising our mission!"

Mitchell rolled his eyes, "Um, Malcolm? There hasn't been a mission."

The boy glared. "There will be when I think of one!"

"Let us know, will you? When that happens?"

"_If_ that happens." Mitchell snickered.

ooOOoo

Silena stared out into the blinding white- it was those free minutes they had before their next lesson and she was alone in the cabin.

For a minute, the swirling winter was replaced by hot summers with the scent of strawberries warm in the air; she could almost hear the clashes of swords as they rang through a sun drenched afternoon and hear the giggling of the wood nymphs. Stretching a trembling hand to some polaroids tacked on a board beside her bed, Silena clenched her eyes shut. There was one of her and Charlie- just after they got together, after that game of Capture-the-flag.

There was one of her and Clarisse, the Ares girl's face unwilling to be photographed as she scowled. There was something haunting about the way their faces were etched in eternity on the glossy film paper when they weren't here.

Hesitating, Silena drew out one of the drawers on her nightstand. Even in the half, dappled light she could see it glinting amongst her handkerchiefs: the scythe. So much deep evil and pain in that tiny, glinting piece of sharp metal. She saw Kronos's eyes loom over her and she fell back, gasping in terror before realising it was just a memory… A memory couldn't hurt her.

Silena stared at the charm again as it lay harmless- Kronos had disabled its connections after her attempted betrayal, worried that she could use it to her own purposes. She had wanted to destroy it, toss it down the lake perhaps and never see it again. But she had wanted to punish herself for what she had done so she kept it safe, safe like she couldn't have kept Charlie or Clarisse. After some thought, she grabbed the scythe and dug it deep into her palm, waiting until the siren thrum of pain released her and then _she_ released the charm, letting it fall back into the drawers scalded with red.

* * *

They had about forty-five minutes left to fly when Austin announced that he needed to go the bathroom. Clarisse had fallen asleep and hadn't heard him, so he shrugged and made his way to the tiny toilet.

When he came out, he found himself face to face with the man in a fedora. "Sir." Austin muttered as he made his way to bypass, but the man grabbed him by his shoulder.

"You come with me and you come silently or I will shoot everyone on this plane." The man hissed, drawing back his lapel to show three guns holstered to it, and something that looked suspiciously like a bomb as well. His throat dry, Austin followed the man to a room at the back of a plane. The man opened a door and led him into a tiny room.

"Sit." He commanded. Austin sat, his eyes darting around the tiny space as his heart started to race. "This room is sound-proof; shouting will do you no good." The man said softly as he stared at the boy. "Papers?"

Austin crept his hand into his jacket pocket and drew out the documents. The man took them and nodded calmly as he read through it. Finally he lifted his eyes and ripped the documents, the searing sound matching the sudden furious contortions of his face. "You are not Abe Donovan!"

_Keep your cool_. "There must be some mistake." Austin protested, raising his hands. "Sir, you've just destroyed my pape-"

The man drew his hand back and slapped Austin across his face; he fell backwards, his head spinning. He tasted blood, fresh and harsh and metallic and real.

He made to stand but the man slammed him down on the floor again, stomping on his back with ferocity. Austin stifled a cry.

"Get up! Get UP!" Austin winced as he pulled himself up, determined not to show the man his pain. He glared into his eyes. "I have been watching you since you entered the airport, Jones. I don't know if you came with the rest of your friends, the rest of the criminals, but I could tell it was you- do you really think that it would be this easy?"

"You have no proof."

"Is that so?" The man smiled pleasantly, pointing to a pale spot- not large, but not miniscule either- on the back of Austin's neck; he stood straight, feeling chills run down his spine. "It's funny, demigod. How stupid you think we are."

"It's rather how stupid I was." Austin muttered back. There was no use pretending now, the devils had crept over the walls.

"I don't think you are travelling alone." The man hissed, looming above him. "Your fugitive friends must be with you. You- the heartless bastards who burned down The Hills, who burned down your friends-"

Before he knew it, Austin had leapt on top of the man and there was a violent scuffle before he was pinned under his weight.

"You will tell me who else on board this plane you know." The man said angrily.

"No one!" Austin yelped. "No one! I came by myself!"

The man drew out a knife; its wicked tip gleamed in the almost dark. The plane rumbled through the sky- through the free and endless sky-

With a curious expression on his face, the man held the sharp point over Austin for a minute before jamming it into him with great force and Austin screamed and the knife went it deeper and deeper, twisting itself into his very mind-

"Tell me!"

"No!" He choked.

The knife went in deeper and nothing made sense and everything was on fire-

"Tell me!"

"I won't!"

And then the door slammed open and his friends rushed in, Travis poking a hairpin into his pockets. The man stood up in shock as Will and Clarisse slammed into him- behind him, Katie quickly locked the doors.

"You think the guards know?" She breathed and Rashidah grabbed the transmitter off the man, turning it off.

"Austin!" his big sister yelped as she knelt down over him, the worry evident in her grey eyes. "You're going to be okay," She whispered urgently, her hands dancing across his blood-struck chest as she began to mutter healing hymns. "You're going to be okay. Will, come here!" She pleaded- back there, the scuffle had ended and Will left the man with the rest as he came to kneel down by Austin. The two children of Apollo began to work in earnest as they tried to heal their little brother.

Austin could feel the strength flow slowly back into his bones. "You're going to be okay, Austin, you're going to be fine. Shit, I promise, okay?" Kayla whispered again. He nodded.

Will took in a deep breath and Austin could feel him concentrating but their combined powers did the trick; the wound wasn't fully healed, but Austin nodded as he stood, taking in the pain.

"He figured out it was me." He said apologetically. "Birthmark."

Will winced. "None of us thought." He walked over to the man who had regained consciousness as he stood between Rashidah and Clarisse. "What do we do with you?"

"Just my luck." The man smiled. "I've got all… eight of you!" He let out a laugh. "What are you going to do, children? Planning to break out the Gods and return in triumph? What lies in Colorado?"

"None of your business." Clarisse snarled.

The man turned to face her, his features pleasant and amused; as if they had set down for tea on a Sunday afternoon. "Tell me then," he smiled, "Weak, weak demigod. What are you planning to do?"

Clarisse grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"We're planning to win."

Their thoughts scrambled over each other's in the silence. "We leave him tied up here." Rashidah suggested. "We can get out and he will remain and by the time he can alert his comrades it will be too late…"

The man chuckled, "Such a plan, demigod!"

"I am a mortal." She said icily, her eyes boring into his.

Will looked at her, both wondering what to do.

"It doesn't matter," the man said mournfully, eyes connecting with Austin's who started in sudden realisation.

"He's got a bomb!" He yelped. "The bastard's got a bomb!"

"Clever boy." The man looked at them with something close to sadness in his wild eyes. "Now all I need to do, I suppose, that you all are here with me, is to help us all leave this earth. The might of Kronos will triumph and nothing will stand in his ways. Not demigods, not mortals, not their plans of false hope…" He lifted his eyes to the heavens and wrenched himself free before walking over to the edge of the room. They stood still, not daring to breathe.

He pressed a button that lay alongside the edge and they flattened themselves against the walls as a tiny slit sprang open in the side of the plane, grabbing on for dear life as the man grabbed a bar above his head. steeling himself to remain on board. "I think I will like to see the sun one last time!" He shouted back as the wind yelled war cries towards them, trying its best to drag them out on her icy hands.

"Will!" Kayla muttered from next to Will; he saw tear tracks line her face as her hair danced around her, "Will. I know what to-"

And before he knew what was happening, his sister propelled herself at the man as he stared down at the clouds and they both slammed into the slat in a maze of confusion, finally tumbling out of the plane.

"SHIT!" Will yelled as he heard their screams balloon as they fell; Austin finally made his way to the button and slammed against it, leaving the way free for them to walk and releasing a thick silence.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no-

"That was my sister!" He shouted as he scrambled towards what had once been an open window, "That was my little sister!" Austin ran towards him, staring out of the slat and it was empty, there was nothing there but cloud and blue sky and sun spots.

Will felt the world heave under him as his brain started screaming endlessly- "That was my little sister!" He yelled again, his voice a wild creature screaming alone from the mountaintops.

Next to him, Austin had rested his forehead against the cool walls, his shoulders heaving. The other five stood in silence behind them, intruders. "Will-" Rashidah began, coming towards him.

He looked pleadingly at her. "That was my little sister." He begged. "I was supposed to take care of her."

ooOOoo

Kayla felt the wind rush past her ears and felt, for a brief moment, pure and free. She was still gripping the man as she fell; she hadn't known what she had done. All she knew that she had been afraid, so afraid that was nothing else but the fear- but she had remembered what that had done before. What the fear had done on a wintry mountain where people she knew had lived and died.

She had only thought of defeating what had once destroyed so many of her friends.

And so she had leapt.

As the man brought his hands up to his jacket as they flew and fell and flew, as his fingers pressed the buttons of the explosives and just as the mushroom clouds of dancing orange and yellow erupted around them, she wondered if there was such a thing as poetic justice. Maybe not justice, exactly, but something on earth that drew everything together on a tiny, thin thread and looped it all together.

Kayla closed her eyes against the flames that danced around them, begging her father to make this easy. She knew she would be fine. Soon, she would be free.

ooOOoo

Surprisingly, it was Clarisse who chivvied the Stolls and Katie out- "Go out first, pretend nothing's happened. Be normal, godsdamn."

She locked eyes with Rashidah. "I will go." The girl muttered.

"You can stay, if you want." Will muttered as he felt the tears course down his cheeks. He went over to Austin and clapped a hand around the boy's shoulders.

"Kayla's not dead." The younger boy said simply. "She was alive just a minute ago."

Clarisse's eyes flew open, and Will saw in her eyes The Hills as they burned down around her. She had lost her brother too.

"Listen to me." Clarisse said, not unkindly, as she came to sit next to them. "Kayla's gone, yeah, I'm not going to lie and shit- I know it feels like hades because when you lose-" her voice caught. "When you lose a sibling, when I lost Divyan… I know how it feels. But right now we have a mission to complete and if we fail here, what Kayla did will be a waste. And my brothers- and shit, just everyone from The Hills… They'd have died for nothing." Her voice softened. "Guys, I'm sorry."

Will shook his head. "It's not your fault." He muttered numbly.

Rashidah pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to the boys, "Wipe your eyes." She whispered. " Wipe your eyes." The sons of Apollo stood awkwardly as they forced their features to settle into something normal.

"We're lucky that the guards went into their reserved room." Clarisse said just before she opened the door. "C'mon Austin." She said gently as she led the boy towards their seats.

"Are you-" Rashidah began.

"I'm fine." Will whispered as they walked to their own seats and sat, letting the silence and the utter normalcy of everything wash over them in gentle waves.

He could almost pretend that nothing had happened, but she had been his sister, his little sister.

He had been supposed to protect her.


	13. Silver rivers open broken locks

The plane descended in Colorado without a hitch; and as they hit the ground and began the roll down the runway, Will finally tore his thoughts away from the mantra that had beating his skull through the trip.

_Lee, Michael, Kayla, Lee, Michael, Kayla_

People began to stand up around him, grabbing their bags and walking out of the doors. He felt strangely unreal; the air waved before his fingers and everything seemed at once too distant and too close.

Passing Katie in the aisle, the girl handed him Kayla's bags and he gripped them, swallowing the swelling in his throat.

Still silent, they waited until all seven of them now were off the plane.

"We need to be careful." Austin whispered; his eyes red and puffy. "If anyone asks me for papers, I'm gone- that bastard destroyed them."

"Stay behind me." Will instructed as they made their way through the airport. Luckily, security for flights that had already arrived was more lax; possibly also because New York's in particular had been stringent- it being Kronos's headquarter state and all.

They trooped silently out of the entrance and were faced with a landscape much calmer than what had been New York's; the ground was not covered by whispering snow, but by a gentle and creeping frost. Breathing in the fresh air, they mulled on what to do next.

"There's a bus that goes to the Springs- Garden of the Gods." Katie stated, her fingers running through a brochure she had picked off one of those displays.

"Do we have enough for tickets?" Will asked as he pulled out their money bag; it was filled with their combined savings and a little extra that Deuce had to give them. "And I guess we should pick up something to eat."

"Our makeup's still fine, as well." Travis said, checking his reflection in the glass, "Course Deuce made sure Paul used only the best."

They sat down at a McDonalds- "how typical", Connor muttered- and warily ate their meal, eyes darting through the crowd of people peppered in various winter wear.

A sign at one of the bus stations stated that buses going out-of-state had been cancelled with effect of August 31st; since that date, the only means of interstate travel had been private vehicles and planes, of course- part of the new security measures.

They boarded the bus, which was emptier than it would have been usually and found seats clustered to one another as the vehicle began to rumble its way to the Garden of the Gods.

* * *

"I swear that Crafts has his eye on you." Drew said to Silena from her spot next to Nyssa; The Last Olympians were having their second meeting in the underground bunker of the Hephaestus cabin. "Don't be too careless and screw this up, okay?"

Silena nodded absently as her eyes traced one of the pictures tacked up to the boards; this particular one was a drawing of an odd sort of ship, the lines glowing clinical green from the overhead light.

"We have to do something, already." Mitchell said briskly. "So, Malcolm, you said you'd have an idea."

"I really don't have anything." Malcolm said. "I'm afraid that whatever we do is going to end up in hades. Crafts is crazy, seriously."

"Not another escape like what the Stolls did a week ago, then?"

"You want what happened to Austin to happen again? And this time I bet it will end up much worse."

Mitchell and Nyssa caught each other's eyes and broke away as the rest settled in deep thought.

* * *

"It is beautiful." Rashidah gasped as the bus slowed to a stop at the entrance to the Garden. Even covered with the light frosting of snow, something about the place glowed warm and homelike; the rock formations were exquisite and hulking and brought to mind distant lands and ancient songs.

Even Will and Austin couldn't help the amazement that grew inside them at the almost sacred sight of the Garden.

"No wonder it's called the Garden of the Gods." Katie said appreciatively, her eyes lit up with a fervent glow. "Oh my Gods, if only the rest of my siblings could see!"

Entrance to the park was free and they went inside, eyes still raking over the intricate _wildness_ of the place.

"So what are we looking for?" Will asked, frowning. The place was huge, how were they going to find the entrance to Daedalus's workshop?

"At least let us look around a bit more first!" Katie begged, "If only I had a camera."

"Omigods _nature._" Connor mimicked.

Travis shrugged. "I bet we could find some tourists and steal one."

"No, you won't." Will said; and that little exchange was so reminiscent of one that they had back at the Battle of Manhattan that they couldn't help but grin a little.

Early evening was descending and the sun cast a blood-red glow that danced off the giant rocks.

"This way." Clarisse suggested and led the way ahead through the winding structures and they followed her, keeping their eyes planted on the rocks for any sort of sign that might aid them.

"Hey Stolls," Clarisse turned around, "Your pa's the god of thieves of wanderers. Think you have a little bit of help?"

"Try looking for-" Austin leant against a crumbling wall and instantly fell through it. The rest of them started and ran in after him, shoving their way through the stone.

"I'm alright." The boy muttered, wincing as he pressed a hand to his chest wound as Will helped him up. "It's cool."

"No way." Connor whispered as he stared around at the chamber which they had found themselves in. They were surrounded by clinking inventions that shone in the red-light that filtered its way through the opening.

"No way." Travis agreed in amazement as he picked up the nearest gadget; it was an iron contraption shaped like a small horse and when he clicked a button under its stomach, the animal galloped out of his hands and onto the table, its miniscule hooves clacking on the wood.

"Where're the weapons?" Clarisse demanded as she tossed her bag-pack onto the floor and surveyed the room. Her eyes glinted in excitement as she crossed over to the opposite side of the room where various weapons were stored. "Gods!" She announced as she her hands raced over several guns with bullets of celestial bronze and hurried over to the swords and shields.

"Ah, Clarisse," Connor muttered, "So dainty and sweet."

"How are we going to cart all these out of here?" Will wondered as he gently set down Kayla's bag and then his.

"These bags might solve that issue." Austin replied; in another corner of the room, he and Katie were dropping random items into a bronze-looking briefcase. "We've filled it up full, except that it just goes on and on…"

"And it's not very heavy!" Katie agreed as she picked it up. Thrilled by their sudden luck, the group began to grab as much of the weapons as they could, Clarisse remarking over the workmanship and telling everyone how good they were going to be in battle, and began tossing them in the bags.

Once they were done, they settled down onto the floor and Katie began to pass around a bag of chips and bottles of water. The events of the day were catching up with them and they were growing tired.

"You could not have picked something more nourishing?" Rashidah frowned at the Stolls, who'd been the ones to pick up rations from the airport store.

"Nourishing means salads and fruits. Nourishing is bad for the taste buds." Connor said as he bit into a chip, sending a spray of golden crumbs down his front.

"Can we rest here tonight?" Katie asked the group, "I'm really tired."

"I think we all are." Austin agreed and everyone nodded. His eyes darted to where Kayla's bag sat mournfully alone and he blinked. "Going to bed." He muttered; he picked up his sleeping bag and dragged it into a corner of the room where he fell onto it.

He was, Will noticed, too still to be sleeping. Absently, he stretched a hand onto a shelf above him and picked up something, a small iron spider of extraordinary and intricate make. To take his mind off the dusty ghosts, he set down his bottle and began to browse through the little knickknacks that populated the shelf, finally picking up one that stood out a little from the rest.

He showed it to Rashidah, who had come to stand beside him. "What's this supposed to be?"

"That is the Greek alphabet for 'H'." She frowned as she took the flat cylinder from him, "That is the mark of Hephaestus."

"What's it doing here?"

Rashidah shrugged, "I suppose it might have been a gift from the God to Daedalus himself; after all, an inventor of his calibre might have found favour with Hephaestus."

Will ran his hands over the object, noticing how it was like a coin. Squeezing it between his thumb and forefinger, he noticed the mark glow a faint blue before spindly legs inched its way of the iron- it scuttled over his palm like a spider.

"Holy cow," he muttered, setting the thing down on the floor. It scuttled towards another wall and began to tap its legs against the stone. "Is it trying to lead us somewhere?"

"Probably! Let us follow it!"

Will turned to look at the rest of the group, who looked weary and tired. He shook his head, walking over to the coin and pressing it again to turn it off- the legs withdrawing back inside of it like a sandwich. "They're too tired; it's been a… rough day. We'll let them have some sleep first."

Rashidah looked at him and nodded, going off to her corner. Sighing, Will dragged his own sleeping bag to where Austin was and shut his eyes, begging for sleep to come.

ooOOoo

"Will." A voice shook him from his troubled slumber; the faint light of stars that poked its way through the opening of the room accentuated the creeping chill that was falling in. Will awake to Austin.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Nothing… I just… I couldn't sleep." The boy muttered, slumping against the wall. Will wiped the sleep from his eyes and did the same. "I'm really tired and I really want to sleep, I need to sleep but I can't. I was thinking… about Kayla."

Will tried to keep the pain out of his voice when he spoke, "Yeah… But I guess she's having some good times with Lee and Michael now. Probably arguing over something in Elysium the way they always did back at Camp."

Demigods were no stranger to death, and he had come to cradle many of their loved ones away recently; especially those of the Apollo cabin. It didn't mean that it didn't hurt, though, because it did. It always did. But they were still alive, Will thought, and that was a damn good sight of luck for them.

"Try and get some sleep." He said to Austin. "I know it's hard, but we've got a long day ahead of us."

Austin nodded and crawled back to his sleeping bag. Will waited until he saw the rise and fall of his younger brother's chest fall into a steady rhythm of sleep before he went over to where Kayla's bag lay.

Will wished he had his keyboard with him, or any sort of instrument really. Music had helped his cabin a lot when Lee Fletcher fell first, and even after Michael's death and through the battle of Manhattan, they had Austin's guitar to keep them company through the dark Children of Apollo, he supposed, it came with the blood.

"What the hades are you doing?" Clarisse's voice drifted over. "Saw you crouching like some sort of monster and woke up."

"Nothing." Will muttered.

"You should leave the bag here when we go." Clarisse said, "it'll only slow us down."

"I can't leave her behind." Will argued.

"It's her_ bag._" Clarisse frowned, "Not her."

Will shook his head. "I was so mean to her after what happened at The Hills. I blamed her, you know."

"We all did. It was only natural. I mean, she didn't mean it but still… It was her fault."

Will glared at her defensively but Clarisse just stared back. "You thought so as well, no point in looking at me like that." Clarisse grabbed his shoulder. "Look, I don't know who made you the leader but you are, so you can't go around looking like a lost puppy, okay? Deal with it. You're not the only one who lost a sibling."

"I also lost my best friend when Michael died!"

"I lost Silena! She betrayed us!" Their eyes flitted to the sleeping group and they lowered their voices.

"Sorry." Will said. "I didn't think." A pause came to sit between them. "Of course, we're demigods; comes with the package I guess."

"No one mentioned it when we signed up." Clarisse tried for a grin.

"You signed up, I was drafted." Will replied, smiling back, thinking of his three siblings. He thought of Michael, who pulled himself together after Lee's death and led his cabin to war. Will knew he couldn't afford to be weak, not now. Pulling himself together, he muttered, "Well we really should get some sleep then."

Clarisse nodded in agreement and the two of them went back to bed. Will cast Kayla's bag a last final look before closing his tired eyes, letting the sweet chorus of sleep finally rush over him.


	14. Tell me a story of demons and saints

Morning rose with fierce intensity; the dawn sun breaking its way in through the opening of the chamber, the light hitting their eyes and dragging them awake.

They washed up in the little bathroom that the room had and downed another packet of chips each, Rashidah vowing to be the one to pick rations the next time.

As Clarisse stood- and the health in her eyes was gaining steadily- she asked them, "So this plus all the weapons we have back at Camp, you think it's enough? Can we go back now?"

"You just want to see Chris!" Connor rolled his eyes and dodged to avoid her fist.

Katie frowned, "Gods, I think we forgot to tell you- seeing as you were taken from camp before the Golden started implementing all these rules and stuff-"

"Long story short," Travis injected, "The idiots confiscated all our weapons from the cabins and the armoury. We're left with nothing now."

"That's why we came here," Will said nudging one of Daedalus's suitcases, "This is all we have right now."

Clarisse shrugged mulled over this latest revelation angrily as she cursed. "Might as well. So let's get going?"

"Will, get the invention." Rashidah said and the rest leant forward eagerly to see the little spider that Will had found previously.

He turned on the tiny gadget again and it sped to the same wall as yesterday, tapping on it with its spindly, metal legs.

"Where do you think that goes?" Austin frowned.

"It cannot be the labyrinth." Said Rashidah, "That was destroyed… But it might be some underground passage."

"Woah, wait a second." Katie glared, "We're going to go around following this random spider-like thing just because Will found it?"

"Hey," Will countered, "It's got Hephaestus's mark on it- that's trustworthy."

"Why not?" Travis asked, "We've done lots more stupider stuff on this trip. That's a word, right? 'Stupider'?"

"Let's just figure out what's behind the wall-" Will began when a clanking sound from the room jolted them around. In the shadows of the chamber, nearest to the opening, something had begun to move.

Fear gripped them with fierce longing when the first of the shadows came into being, the rest blocking up the opening behind them; pale creatures of human-like make, with pupil-less eyes that seemed to be cut from the moon, their features twisted and marred as if they had been burned, waxy and dying but very much cold and alive.

In those mournful, dead eyes without hope they could see one thing: Death.

Limbs twisting in unholy contortions, the first one stepped forward like autumn leaves rustling on dead earth.

The creeping silence was broken by a single word.

"Run."

The band started banging on the wall and Will scooped up the spider as the creatures advanced; it was Katie who saved them, using her powers as a child of Demeter to break the earth in front of them and they hurtled forward urgently, Connor supporting her as she weakly ran forward from the exertion.

They descended through a carved tunnel with the creatures hot on their back; just behind Will, Clarisse crumpled to the ground, her face taut and wheezing. Will tossed the spider to Rashidah and turned behind to help her up, the rushing creatures in his eyes. "Austin, help me!" He yelled as he lifted the girl on one side. Austin quickly took up the other.

"Screw-this-bull!" Clarisse panted, "Let's just- stay and fight!"

"There's no war to be won here!" Connor shouted from in front of them as Will and Austin dragged her along- the beasts were getting closer and closer now.

"Connor, let me go!" Katie yelped from in front of them and she turned around.

"What the hades are you doing?"

The girl stood still just in front of the creatures as they came closer and closer, her face twisted in concentration as her hands moved in front of her.

Will passed Clarisse to Austin as he ran back to see what she was doing, Connor behind him. Finally the very earth before Katie descended in a splintering shower of soil and rock, creating a barrier between the groups; hard and quick the earth rained down, making a thick, solid wall. Katie collapsed against the ground, and Rashidah rushed towards her, hastily taking a square of ambrosia out of Will's bag.

"You saved us." Travis said in amazement.

"Yeah, yeah." She breathed as she inhaled the square.

"Will that keep them?" Will asked, clearing his mind from the shock. He could hear distant sounds of scrabbling and he could see, in his mind, the cold empty eyes of the creatures.

"It will buy us time, at the very least." Rashidah said as she helped Katie up, Travis falling next to her.

"What the hades were those?" Austin asked, wiping sweat from his face.

"Do you think they were like, guardians of the workshop or something?" Clarisse asked; her face was a mixture of humiliation and anger from her fall.

A sound oddly reminiscent of wolves began to echo mournfully from behind the barrier. Rashidah's face paled in the darkness of the tunnel. "Did you see their eyes?" She whispered. "They reminded me of the moon."

Will snapped to look at her, remembering the reason she had been able to find her way to The Hills.

"Let's just go, alright?" Travis asked as he and Connor helped Katie up; the girl was looking much better. "This place gives me the creeps."

"What does the spider thing say?" Will asked Rashidah, as they began to walk quickly down the tunnel. She set the contraption on the ground; of course, it moved only forward, that was the only way available in the straight tunnel.

"Well, unless we want to go back…" Travis began and they started to walk unwillingly down the passage.

"I'm fine!" Clarisse snapped as Will turned around to help her walk. "That was just an accident, I tripped is all!"

"You're still weak from your time at The Hills." Will said warily.

"I'm fine." She growled and walked on.

Shrugging, he eyed her uneasily before he turned to Rashidah. "So what do you think those things were?"

The girl's dark eyes were troubled and she was running her hands around what seemed to look like an ivory horn she had taken from her bag. "I do not want to speak of it; I am not sure myself… It just seemed as if… as if… nevermind."

Will's ADHD got the better of him, "What's that?" He asked, pointing at the horn.

A wistful expression settled down on Rashidah's face. "The horn of the hunters. When you are inducted to the hunt, Lady Artemis grants you with one; blow into it and your sisters will come to your aid; if they wish to, of course." She mumbled finally, jamming the horn back into her bag.

Will felt a rush of pity for this girl, she was in a lot of ways, just like him. Leaders who didn't appear to be doing a very good job even if that was all they wanted to do; to keep their friends safe. "It's going to be fine." He smiled at her and she returned the gesture.

Behind them, Travis spoke. "Hey guys, where do you think we are?" He was holding up a flashlight to the walls and they noticed carvings etched on them.

"These look like battle plans." Clarisse frowned as she looked at a piece of parchment tacked onto a board. In the new light of the torches, they saw that the walls were filled with various boards decorated with mementos of some kind.

Taking a closer look at the spider, Rashidah said, "There's something inside the carving of the Eta; numbers… 1861?"

"What's so special about 1861?" Austin asked.

"It was the year the civil war started." Clarisse replied and everyone turned to look at her in shock, "What, daughter of Ares aren't I?"

"These pictures definitely look as if they came from that era." Faded pictures tacked to the walls showed older teenagers in military uniforms at some sort of training ground.

"Hold on…" Will asked, squinting at one of them. "Isn't that the Ares cabin? You can see the boar hitched to it."

"Gods, some of these pictures were from Camp!" Austin said, pointing to a shot of soldiers seated for a photograph on a bench. "This one's got the Big House in the background!"

"What does it mean?"

"It means that probably some demigods were fighting the civil war." Clarisse said, deadpan.

"Okay, let's just continue walking." Travis said. "I don't like the feeling of the creatures behind us. Remember them?"

And so they continued on their way.

* * *

"You know how the Golden is always making their plans?" Malcolm frowned as The Last Olympians were gathered again in their usual hideout after curfew. "They're always coming up with these new rules and things, stands to reason that they'd have this log to record it, right?"

"Yeah, so what?" Drew asked.

Malcolm raised palms, "So what if new camp rules aren't the only things that the Golden discusses? What if they are more important things there?"

Chris frowned, "We'll be dancing on luck, Malcolm. What if they don't have a log?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Please, it's like the unwritten rule of military history- or maybe it's written, who knows- they do have a log or meeting minutes or notes, any one of those things."

"Where the hades do you think they keep that?" Mitchell mused.

"The big house, probably." Malcolm replied. "I mean, logically, it is their headquarters."

"How are we supposed to find out where they keep this log book or whatever, if it exists?" snorted Drew.

Malcolm looked at all of them, "I figured that would be a job for the children of Aphrodite."

* * *

They had no idea how long they'd been walking; the fatigue, coupled with the burbling hunger, fear that any minute the beasts from the workshop would reappear and the general uneasiness because no one exactly knew where they were being led to was extremely unsettling. The group was feeling a common twinge of frustration.

Katie checked her watch, "We've been walking for two hours." She moaned. "Where are we even going?"

"There's no other option," Will said, "The trail only leads one way."

"Okay," said Travis, "We're stuck in an unending underground tunnel that looks like it was last used in the civil war, on the lead of some spider thing with Hephaestus's mark. We can't go back because they've got these demon-beast things looking for us. What the hades is going on?"

"This could be a military base." Clarisse frowned, her hand gently brushing one of the numerous battle maps that dotted the walls. "It was probably used during the civil war; a passage or trail of some sort." She glared at him, "Would you stop looking so amazed, punk? It's not that hard to figure out."

"But why did the spider thing want to lead us through here?" Austin asked. "I mean, obviously they're connected and all… But what did Hephaestus have to do with the civil war?"

Rashidah spoke, "If I recall- my memory not serve best, my section of the Hunt was not in America at the time- the gods were somehow involved in the mortal battles. I remember Artemis leading another section of the Hunt back to America to fight while mine, led by Zoe, was searching for an elusive beast across the Atlantic."

"And the pictures of Camp Half-Blood…" Connor dragged the puzzle pieces to one another, "You think demigods fought on one side?"

"It could be like World War II as well." Clarisse reasoned. "Enemy demigods pitched against one another like Hades against the other two."

"Wait, you think this passage leads to Camp Half-Blood?"

Rashidah cocked an eyebrow. "You expect this trail to lead all the way to your camp? Do you know how long it would take to walk between Colorado and Long Island? Is such a thing even possible?"

"We know that Daedalus was alive during the civil war, like Percy told us last time- dude's been alive for centuries. This could be some secret passage that they used to travel!" Connor said excitedly.

"It does make sense." Said Will, as he slammed his fist softly against the wall, "Well, at least we know where we're going."

"Well, punks," Clarisse murmured as she twisted the cap off a bottle and took a long drink, "We've got a long way to go."


	15. An angry square of broken sky

"How do I look?" Drew brushed her shiny locks one last time and frowned at Mitchell, who tossed a strand of hair out of his eyes.

"Hey, we're Aphrodite kids; we're manufactured to look great all the time." He said. It was just after dinner, which meant that it was their cabin's turn to go on clean-up duty. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Lacy grab a couple of rags off a hook and run towards the pavilion.

"Who's on guard today?" Drew asked as she batted her eyes at the mirror.

"Michael Dominique and Sarah Chew. Not the worse of the lot, but not the best either."

"Tell me again why Silena isn't coming?"

"Because everyone knows Raymond's on the lookout for her?" Mitchell frowned, "Seriously, Drew, she's on our side now. When will you let it rest?"

"How about never?" The girl responded as she deemed her appearance satisfactory and shut her compact. "She betrayed us once, and I don't take kindly to traitors."

Silena came up to them, her expression worried as their cabin lined up in front of the Pavilion to wait for the guards to give the signal. "Good luck." She smiled tautly, ruffling Mitchell's hair. "You're lucky, I see Sarah Chew staring at you all the time. You've got it easy."

Drew frowned. "What if Dominique's gay? We can't let this go wrong."

Mitchell shook his head. "Nah, I heard he slept with a couple of girls from the Hermes cabin- they wanted bread or something. He's bi, at least. Ah, we're Aphrodite kids, anyway. Quit worrying."

Drew made a disgusted face. "Traitors and pricks all around." Her eyes rested on Silena who blushed; her hand had been halfway to Drew's hair to tuck a lock behind her ear. She withdrew the hand and stared at the deep blue sky. "You'll be fine." She murmured comfortingly as Sarah Chew gave the signal and the cabin began walked towards the tables and began to clean them.

Drew slapped a wet rag the Hephaestus's table and caught Dominique's eyes. The Golden member scowled and she glared, huffing. Catching his eye again, she quirked up a corner of her lips. From another table, she saw Mitchell already next to Sarah; the usually stern girl was tucking a stray hair behind her ears as she blushed. She rolled her eyes and decided to up her game.

Marching up to Dominique, she smiled sweetly at him.

"What?" He barked.

"I need a new rag." She said petulantly, turning on the charm. She felt the boy's defences slipping and something about that gave her strength.

"Go get one yourself." He tried. "That one looks fine, anyway."

"Please?" She pleaded, hating herself, "I'll do _anything_ for a new rag. Plus, I think I need some bread." She could feel her siblings looking at her with various degrees of disgust. Mitchell was lucky, she thought angrily; Sarah, at least was just a girl with a crush instead of a creep, if the talk about Dominique was to be believed.

"I've got bread." His voice slimed and she choked back her disgust.

"When can I get it?" She managed. Keep that smile on your face, she urged herself.

"After your duty." He said brusquely and walked off.

Drew walked back to where Mitchell was standing, having finished talking to Sarah.

"How'd you do?" She asked, trying to wipe her mind free of Dominique's looks.

"I don't know." he whispered back, scrubbing a particularly obstinate piece of dirt. "She became all bubbly and stuff. I don't know how to get her to tell me where the book is, though, she kept giggling. Think I overdid it?"

"If I had your luck, I'd be glad." Drew hissed furiously. "You know what I'm going to have to do to get the information out of Dom-that bastard?"

Mitchell's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh no, c'mon, let me go back and talk to Sarah. You don't have to-"

"Whatever," She said angrily, "Not like I haven't done it before."

"This is different!"

"Well, if you have no luck with Sarah, it's not like I have a choice do I? Greater good and all that bullshit- di immortales, Lacy, what?" She glared at the younger girl who had accidentally bumped into her.

"Nothing." Lacy squeaked. "Saw you two talking to the guards," She said suspiciously; Mitchell could tell it was taking the shy girl a lot of courage to confront the older siblings she'd always been in awe of. "What was that about?"

"None of your business!" Drew barked. The younger girl started and scuttled off.

"Did you have to?" Mitchell sighed, "She's dealing with enough since we found out about Silena. You can't blame her for not wanting everyone else to turn against her."

"Oh shut it." Drew muttered.

"Drew," the usual couldn't-care-less look on his features was shaken-up. "I'll find a way."

"No you won't." She said pessimistically, dreading the night as she shivered; a sudden spray of cold wind had jabbed its icy fingers down her neck.

ooOOoo

"I wasn't planning on that!" Malcolm moaned when Mitchell mentioned it to him. "I thought you guys could just get it by flirting or something. Abort the mission?"

"No." Drew said staunchly. "It's the only way and you know it. You all know it." They blushed.

Malcolm handed a transmitter to her and Mitchell. "We'll stand guard outside the house; if it gets too dangerous just tell us. We'll find a way to barge it somehow."

"Gods. Stop worrying!" She muttered, jamming the receiver into her pocket. "How d'you have this anyway?"

"Annabeth used to have Daedalus's old laptop, it had all these blueprints in it and we chose to make these as a cabin before the battle at Manhattan." Malcolm said sadly; in the thickening air, they could feel old ghosts press upon them, gathering in the deepening evening. "They're slimmer than most and frequency is excellent, no matter the elements."

"Good luck." Nyssa said to Drew; the two of them exchanged a look of understanding as Drew made her way to find Dominique.

ooOOoo

Drew was using her powers of charmspeak in full force in the dark room, with the skeletal fingers of trees scraping against the windows.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?" She asked smoothly as she looked over the snow-drenched mountains.

"It doesn't start till half-an-hour." The boy murmured, stretching out his hands which she easily bypassed.

"And what meeting might that be?" She asked with all the power she could muster, thanking her mother for bestowing her with charmspeak; the gift was not readily handed to Aphrodite children and she was probably the only one in the cabin who had it. Perhaps Silena did as well, but she never showed it.

"We gather information, talk to our people in the city; make new plans and stuff." He murmured weakly as Drew smiled sweetly at him, shades of light blessing her face.

"Do you record the information?" She asked as she pulled off her jacket, revealing a pale pink tank top beneath that matched her eyeliner.

Dominique took a deep breath and she asked the question again, weighing the words heavily. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, we've got this thing called the Log Book… It's…"

"It's where?"

"It's in Raymond Craft's room."

"Where's that?"

"Go up the stairs; it's the door directly in front." Drew began to breathe easier; a scuffle of sounds descended from out the door. She nudged Dominique, "Tell them we're busy."

"We're busy now!" The boy said gruffly and the noise stopped. He looked at Drew, "Can we…?"

"You don't want to." She said with gravitas, feeling relief enter her.

"No, I don't want to." He agreed, dazed.

She leaned against his ear. "Go to sleep." She waited, stroking his hair while wincing inside. Dominique may be the best-looking out of all The Golden, but he was still a little slimy bastard, she thought. After nearly ten minutes, the sound of his deep breathing filled the room and she put on her jacket. The clock on the wall ticked mournfully to eight-thirty; just half an hour over curfew.

She opened the door to see the faces of about two of the Golden. They leered at her. "Where's Dominique?" One of them snickered. A girl who came down from the stairs glared at him.

"Lay off her."

"It's fine." Drew snapped; she didn't the help of the enemy. "He's asleep." She said briskly to the boy who whistled.

"I'll have to lead you to the door." The girl put in, tugging on a piece of curly brown hair. "It should've been Dominique who led you out, but…"

"Oh shove it and just lead me out, hon." Drew demanded. The boy half-stood from his chair.

"Watch your tone, sweetheart."

They glared at each other for a heartbeat before Drew followed the girl towards the door. Drew had thought she might have been able to break for the log book that very night, but that had been a stupid idea.

The girl looked at her apologetically as she pulled open the door, gesturing to the brisk winter air. "It's after curfew so I have to escort you back to your cabin. You're from…?"

"Aphrodite." Drew said tersely. "Dominique does this a lot?"

"Kind of, yes."

Drew slipped a little on the icy ground and the girl stretched out an arm to steady her. "Careful."

"Not like you care." Drew wrenched her arm away and a film of hurt settled on the girl's face.

"I was only trying to help."

"Bullshit." Drew knew she was treading on thin ice but something about the girl made her doubt she'd get into much trouble.

"I know you hate us, but we're just trying to help."

Drew barked sarcastically. "Sure you are."

"Listen." The girl said defensively, her feet sinking a little in the snow. "I'm a daughter of Hebe. Do you have any idea who that is? Not until the Titans won, did you? But Hebe was a goddess, just like your mother was. It was unfair that I had to sit in the Hermes cabin for years- that other children did as well- while others were eaten by monsters because the Gods were unfair and frankly, not very good leaders."

Drew glared at her but she continued, "And you? Daughter of Aphrodite? When was the last time your cabin got the respect it deserved?" Her voice softened. "We're only trying to help."

Drew stared at her, watching the harsh lights dance against her freckled skin before hardening again. "If you're trying to recruit me, hon, you've got another thing coming." She said before marching up to her cabin, which they just reached.

The girl stared back, her expression a mixture of defiance and slight grief. Drew tore her gaze away angrily before slamming the door shut behind her. For a moment, she had seen where the girl had been coming from, had seen the truth in her words. But Drew Tanaka was no traitor, she would not break.

* * *

The only way they knew that Friday morning had come was by Katie's watch. They shoved their quickly depleting rations in their mouths and made their way on.

"It could take us weeks to get to your Camp." Rashidah said worriedly, "Do we have enough supplies?"

"Quit worrying, hunter." Clarisse said. "Unless you have a better idea?"

Sensing an oncoming fight, Will stood up to bridge the silence. "Let's just continue." He said simply and they went on their way.

"This isn't the labyrinth but I really think I'm going mad." Travis massaged his head.

"It's just the ventilation, probably." said Katie, "Maybe you're claustrophobic."

"Being underground can screw with your mind." Clarisse said darkly, and Will knew she was thinking about Chris.

"Yeah, I got that, thanks." He said shortly. "Gods!" He yelped again, "Did you say we could be doing this for weeks!"

Will took out one of their last pieces of ambrosia and passed it to him, hoping that it would chase away the headaches. Travis took it gratefully.

"Is it just me or is that opening getting wider?" Austin asked; true enough, the passage was widening and when they turned a corner, they found themselves facing a large, circular room; beds were stacked on one side, the other was full of shelves filled with various supplies.

"I am going mad." Travis murmured mournfully as he rushed onto one of the beds and collapsed onto it. It was covered by a film of dust but he didn't seem to mind.

"This must have been some sort of pit stop." Will said in relief as he walked towards the shelf. "Look, it's got all these medical supplies."

Rashidah was scouring through some items on a large table in the centre of the room. Picking up a brittle piece of paper, she read, "Marty's underneath the trapdoor- our division had to leave first. Urgent call from the Fifth. Good luck, soldiers, and may the gods be with you." Frowning, she turned to them.

"Under the trapdoor." Austin repeated as his eyes scanned the floor, "Hey d'you think-"

Will knelt down, tracing the lines were etched on the floor. "Look for a knob or something!" He demanded.

"Found it!" Clarisse said triumphantly; with much lugging and panting, they managed to pull the door open, each of them at separate points. Lifting it up fully with a final grunt, they opened it to find a clean circular hole in the ground, filled with what looked seemed to be a rather large, somewhat old-fashioned looking car. The letter 'M' was emblazoned on its hood.

"Guess we've met Marty." Connor panted as they stared down at the contraption.

"Mark of Hephaestus on its back." Will pointed, pulling out the spider. Turning it on, the thing scuttled towards the car and settled down on a little crater next to the left wheel. It flashed faint blue once more.

"Maybe we better let it rest; I mean how do we know if we can trust..." Connor said apprehensively.

"Don't be such a baby!" Clarisse glared as they watched anxiously. After a few seconds, the car began to whir and the lights flashed to life. Everyone took several steps back as dust swirled around them; it turned out the car had been laid on a platform that was slowly rising to level itself with the ground.

Clarisse jumped down into the circle, noticing the mark of Daedalus also plastered on one of the doors. "Must've been some sort of collaboration!" She said.

"It works after all these years?" Rashidah marvelled.

"My pal Roy had a truck back home," Will said wistfully as he ran his fingers over the knobs. "How hard could this be?"

"Very?" Travis asked. "This is a car built by two… builders, remember. Why is this here?"

"My guess?" Austin said, "A bunch of demigods were on their way to Camp from Daedalus's workshop, but it would've been hades to walk the whole way. So Daedalus- with old Hephy's help- built this thing to speed them on. Probably works as well as a modern car, even if it was built way back."

Rashidah looked at the note on the table, "I guess they didn't make it far enough." She said sadly, "Gods that must have been so long ago…" For a minute, she looked utterly lost before her usual stern expression took over.

"You think we can drive this all the way to Camp?" Katie asked.

Austin crossed to the opposite side of the room; gone was the slim and earthy tunnel, it had expanded to one big enough for Marty to pass. "Hopefully!" He shouted back.

"Let's test drive it first!" Will said eagerly as he climbed on board with Connor who pulled the door shut as he buckled in- Connor rolled his eyes- and pressed what he thought was the ignition button. Marty rumbled forward a little too fast for their liking and both boys yelped, their hands flying over the dashboard in an urgent bid to stop the beast.

"Red button!" Will yelled as he stretched for it.

"You think?" Connor gasped as Marty slowed to a stop. Both of them gasped in relief, chests heaving. The sound of their friend's laughter echoed towards them.

"Very funny guys." Connor said as he dropped out of the car. Will was still trying to figure it out.

"It was actually," Travis grinned.

"Boys will be boys." Katie rolled her eyes as they looked at an extremely amused Will through the windscreen. After a few minutes of the vehicle jerking forward abruptly, he seemed to have a found a way to control it. They waited for him to leap out.

Grinning like a toddler on Christmas morning, Will enthused, "It really is like my friend's truck! Hey there's enough space for everyone, get your stuff and come on!"

"Cool, I'm driving." Clarisse said.

Will shook his head protectively, "You'll crash him!"

"Him? Get off, punk, it's just a car."

"No car is _just_."

Just then, they heard a rumbling noise from behind them.

"Shit." They heard Travis mutter as the mournful keen of wolves begin to rush through the tunnel. Shadows began to flash erratically on the walls.

"Get in." Will said tightly, gesturing towards Marty. "Get in!" The rest of his friends got inside hurriedly; now it was just Will and Rashidah waiting outside as the first of the creatures returned, leaping forwards on all fours through the deep.

"Huntress." It rasped as its fellows came spilling from behind. "Huntress, your punishment is near."

"Get in!" Will shouted to Rashidah.

"Artemis's punishment, it is confirmed." She whispered numbly. Will pushed her inside the car and got in the driver's seat, speeding it down through the tunnel.

"They've got us all surrounded!" Travis yelped as one of the pale things slammed against his window.

"Enough of this hiding!" Clarisse yelled as she made to open the door, "Stand and fight!" Connor managed to grab her and keep her still.

"Katie, think you can do that earth spilling thing again?"

"Not when they're all AROUND us!" She squeaked as Will tried to go faster, fear filling up the blank spaces in his mind.

"It is my consequence!" Rashidah yelled from next to him. "It is my punishment, Will! I must go!"

"What? No!" He yelled as he turned to his window; one of the beasts flashed its hollow, empty eyes at him and widened its gaping maw, skeletal fingers scraping at the glass.

"I must." Rashidah whispered again, her hands on the door handle. "I will accept the consequence when it comes. Then they will leave you in peace." Her features turned sad. "I might even see my parents again."

Will shook his head but before he could do anything, Rashidah had thrown the door open and lunged into gnashing horde.

He pulled the car to a stop- Clarisse took the opportunity of this and Connor's daze to get out of his grip and start hacking at the monsters- and they all got out to help the Rashidah. Through the keening and hollow rasps and twisting bodies, they saw Rashidah up against the wall, her expression hard and determined.

She cast one final look back at them as one of the beasts pressed an almost curious finger to her heart- she flew upwards, expression filled with pain before slamming to the ground, her eyes wide and vacant. Once again, Will felt his heart crash. With a flash of what seemed like starlight, the corpse of the Huntress disappeared.

With Rashidah gone, the monsters turned to face them. "Get ready." Will managed as they lined up against them silently.

"We have destroyed the Huntress." They rasped as one, their words filling his head like waves crashing on a store. Filled with fury, he made to slash forward with a sword but the beasts' bodies started to shrink, their pale demonic forms becoming silent stars that swirled through the tunnel the opposite way they had come, a deceptively benign light flashing against the walls.

Katie had begun to sob, while the other four stared stonily ahead. They had lost another of their party. Will bit down the fierce rush of grief and anger swelling inside him and gestured to the car. "Get- get in." He whispered and they did.

He got in last, the seat next to him empty, and pressed his foot to the pedal, blinking the tears away from his eyes. As he turned to his side, he noticed something sitting on what had once been Rashidah's seat: the horn of the hunters.

Will bit his lip and drove on.


	16. Mourning Hymn of the East

Early Tuesday morning, December 15th 2009

Chris Rodriguez lay wide awake in bed amidst the snoring of his sleeping siblings. He watched the bright yellow beams of light from the torchlights of the Golden members out on patrol flash against the wooden beams of the ceiling, waiting for the clock to tick to half past one. For once in his life, Chris prayed to Hermes, begging the god of thieves and wanderers- wherever he was right now- to grant him safe passage and success.

Time finally betrayed him and he silently slipped out of bed, pressing his face to the window while he waited for the guards to clear. Chris quickly swapped his white sweater for a black one that matched his pants and silently drew the cabin door open, shutting it quietly behind him. A flash of light swept the ground a few metres in front of him and he hustled back. He pressed the earpiece of the transmitter to his ear and heard Malcolm's voice trip over the wires.

"You're out already?"

"Yeah I am; what about you?" He breathed as he slipped as quickly and stealthily to the Big House as he could, cursing the stars for the first time in his life. Cold air began to attack him and he fervently wished he had put on something a tad thicker. "What about Nyssa?"

"She's out as well. In fact she's already waiting out by the Big House. Hang on..." A brief moment passed before Malcolm got back on the line, "The Aphrodite kids just got out of their cabin."

"Good." He could already see the Big House and the volleyball court looming closer and he managed to make his way through to the Arts centre, docking behind one of the pillars. A clear voice shouting commands drifted over and he stiffened.

"Hey." A dark figure whispered and he gulped down some air.

"Relax," Nyssa snickered, "It's just me."

"Thank Gods."

"You know, I thought you'd be a little more accustomed to fear, what with being Clarisse's boyfriend."

Her name pushed the constant worry in his head a little bit higher and Chris ignored her.

"Hades!" He said, as he made out three figures rapidly approaching, spilled-ink silhouttes in the dark. "Can they be any more obvious?"

Silena, Mitchell and Drew had arrived.

"Where in hades is Athena?" Mitchell rasped, "The rest of us are all here." They each pressed up against two pillars as the light from a torch flashed into the hall. After seven and a half more agonising, drawn-out minutes, they heard Malcolm's voice in their transmitter.

"Okay, I'm almost here!"

Chris groaned just as Malcolm sped in, his wide eyes frightened.

"I've made it." He said in relief as he panted. "I've made it."

"Yes, we can see that, sweetie." Drew snapped.

Chris quickly ran over the plan again. "Silena, Drew and I will enter the Big House and search for the logbook; the rest of you keep watch over here. If anything, you know what to do." He held up the transmitter.

"What's that?" Malcolm frowned at Nyssa, whose hands were hovering over her bag pack.

"Essentials!" She snapped. Chris rolled his eyes and the three of them rushed towards the Big House.

Guards were posted at the doors, staring out into the winter night. A light blanket of snow had begun to twinkle down, the white flakes blurring their vision as they brushed softly against their skin.

"I say we go in through the windows," Silena said, "There's no way we'd be able to make it through the doors."

They rushed towards one of the windows, gently prying it open and praying that no one would be on the other side; it had appeared to be empty from the outside, anyway. Chris gestured the two girls through and went in himself, shutting the cold out.

"It's the door immediately opposite the landing." Drew reiterated. They realised they were in the kitchens, the faint lights from outside dancing against a lonely kettle on the stove.

"Hasn't changed at all." Silena said wistfully, remembering better days.

"Shit!" Chris pulled both of them under the table, pushing past the pale blue cloth. The room was suddenly filled with footsteps and warm orange light. Someone had entered.

"Shit, is it my turn to guard the entrance?" A drowsy voice asked as they heard a cupboard door open and some glasses being set not too gently on the counter.

Another one responded. "What? No- you're shift is not till eight, remember? Next shift is McGregor, Chew and Crafts. I think they've already gone."

The three of them looked at each other as the sound of liquid trickling into glasses awoke the room.

One of the chairs was suddenly drawn out and the three of them huddled closer together; a pair of green trousers that stopped short at slim brown ankles appeared in their view. The voice sighed, "Nothing like hot chocolate on a winter's night."

Drew frowned, recognising the voice, it was the daughter of Hebe who'd escorted her to her cabin on Friday night. "Get out." she hissed under her breath.

Minutes hobbled by before the girl rose; they heard her washing her cup and say something about the weather to the other voice in the room before they both went out; Christ noticed two pairs of feet leave the room and the light went off, hurtling them back into blessed darkness.

"That's good news for us." He whispered to the other two, who nodded.

ooOOoo

Mitchell and Nyssa were rustling hastily to each other and Malcolm had not been invited to the conversation. The flurry of snow was cascading heavier now, drenching the air and twisting his vision.

"Hey." He hissed to the other, drawing them out of their whispers. "Hey, we're supposed to be keeping a lookout. No time for your precious chat!"

"Oh, stuff it, Athena." Mitchell winked and Malcolm bristled.

"If you guys aren't taking this seriously-"

"Oh," Nyssa smiled as she flipped her bag open, "We're taking this more seriously than you'll ever know." She removed an orange bundle of cloth.

Malcolm saw red lights flare up in his brain, "Di immortales- why in hades did Chris leave me with you two idiots! Do you _want_ to sabotage this mission?"

Mitchell grinned, "We want to _accentuate _it."

Malcolm dropped his face into his hands. "Please don't. You're supposed to be on lookout."

"We'll be able to look out very well from the rooftop." Nyssa chirped.

Malcolm raised his head, "Oh my gods."

"Relax." Mitchell patted his shoulder just before the two of them took off into the night, "Relax, Athena, you'll be fine."

ooOOoo

They sped up the landing; oddly enough, they almost felt as if Chiron was there, but the old centaur had been assassinated when Kronos took over, breaking the ancient rites. The old photographs had been removed from the walls, replaced with strict looking notices and timetables.

"The door opposite the top of the stairs." Drew nodded when they reached it. From the foyer, a harsh blue light suddenly flashed and they rushed towards the door leading to Crafts's room.

"It's locked!" Silena moaned, tugging at the doorknob.

"Screw it," Chris hissed as he removed a bobby pin from his pocket; quickly, he inserted it into the keyhole, jiggling it madly until something clicked. They fell into Crafts's room, shutting the door behind them. Chris pushed the lock and heard it snap back into place.

"Where did you learn _that_?" Silena breathed.

"You learn a lot of things when you live in Hermes with those Stoll brothers. Even things you don't want to know." Chris shrugged; thinking of the two boys and wondering where in hades they were right now, and if they were okay.

The room was sparse and extremely well-kept, the curtains drawn against the night. On his desk, a sleek black file lay atop a thick red book. He picked up the file and saw it consisted of profiles of each demigod at Camp, segregated by cabin- which had been ranked by alphabetical order. He flipped through the pieces of paper to the Ares cabin, staring at a slip titled 'Clarisse LaRue'. He drank in the sight of her scowling face and was filled with a burst of heady anger at the stamp that littered the page, which read 'transferred to The Hills'.

It had been over three months, but he consoled himself with the small fact that according to the folder, she was still alive. Feeling suddenly better, he picked up the book.

"Is that the one?" Drew asked over his shoulder. Opening the book, Chris saw the first page was titled with the date August 20th; the first official day of the Golden started ruling over Camp Half-Blood.

The line underneath the date was stomped in black ink with the words "Official Log".

A banging on the door caused them to raise their heads. "Crafts?" They heard a voice wheeze. The banging started again before drifting off, the culprit cursing loudly.

Silena took out a thick pad of paper from her pocket and balanced a pen between her fingers, ready to take notes.

Suddenly, a the lock begin to jingle- they gathered that whoever had tried to get into Crafts room also possessed some sort of master key- "Do we leave this here?" Silena asked worriedly.

"Hades no." Drew snatched the book and shoved it into her pocket, grabbing another almost identical looking one from the shelf and jamming it there in its place.

"The window." Chris said urgently; to their relief, whoever-it-was was having some trouble with the lock, they could hear the pauses between the jingling as they tried to figure out the key. Chris heaved the window open and gestured into the night.

Murmuring curses of fear, Drew went out first, gasping as she hit the icy air. Silena followed and so did he, drawing the window closed mere seconds before the door opened.

The three of them were perched awkwardly on two ledges: Silena and Drew huddled on one and Chris on the other. They were shrouded in darkness. They were at the back of the house and he could spot the cabins and the arena amongst the corpses of the trees. Pines glistened emerald in the distance.

ooOOoo

"We made it." Nyssa said in relief as she and Mitchell flattened themselves against the roof; a steady drone was coming from her transmitter into her ears but she ignored it. It was nothing but Malcolm telling them to get back down between useless threats.

They'd both used the window ledges to scale themselves up, thankful for the architecture and the fact that they'd spent years at camp going for rock-climbing lessons with blazes of lava interfering with their progress. Climbing to a simple rooftop had been nothing in comparison. The trick this time was to avoid the eyes of the Golden, and the heavy snow helped some with that. The fluttering flag with Kronos's scythe was attached to the roof and Nyssa glared at its overbearing image.

"Time to take it back." She muttered as she and Mitchell unfolded their own flag, fingers flying as they fiddled with the clasps, finally replacing the cloth. They stared for a minute at their handiwork before returning their eyes to the purple flag.

Mitchell stared at it for a moment before gripping it in each fist, prepared to rip it apart. Not wanting to risk the noise though, he settled for crushing it in his fist, the excess sides slipping over as they joined with the night.

Below them, the guards who were staring in front instead of above were oblivious. Nyssa spat at the purple cloth and they left it lying pathetically on the rooftop as they began their descent.

ooOOoo

Slipping a little on the snow and shivering from the cold that relentlessly whipped against them furiously, the other three gingerly made their way down, rushing towards a very pissed-off Malcolm.

"Did you get it?" The son of Athena barked.

"Yeah." Said Chris, "Where the hades are Nyssa and Mitchell?"

"They went to replace the flag with our own!" The boy glared. "I wanted to tell you but I didn't want to startle you or anything and risk disrupting the mission! Looks like I made the right decision." He said, staring at the red book peeking out of Drew's pocket.

Mitchell and Nyssa rushed towards them, their eyes and cheeks glowing.

"Did you have to?" Silena asked warily and they nodded.

"Well there's that." Malcolm rolled his eyes, "Can we please get back before we get killed?"

ooOOoo

They decided they would meet again the next night before going back to their respective cabins. Chris stared awake at the log, reading it through the faint light dancing through the windows. A cold fist started to form in his heart as he read the words of an entry that dated slightly less than two weeks ago.

"The Hills has ceased operation as of today; having been burnt down in an explosion caused by demigod runaways. There were no survivors."

He felt as if he was drowning, searching for any sort of anchor before he finally clenched onto one.

"The names below, however, are those of the rebel demigods who have been accounted for as still alive and who are currently on the run. With immediate effect, they have been declared as fugitives and will be announced to the general population for possible aid in their capture."

His eyes skimmed through familiar names, heart rising steadily higher when he spotted both the Stolls and tipping bursting point when he saw Clarisse.

His eyes devoured the next line.

"When the demigods are found, they will be held accountable for their crimes in front of the Lord Kronos."

He read on furiously, drinking in each word like a man dying of thirst.

"The punishment for their irreverence will be death."


	17. Mountains are building

They took turns as they drove on in silence; each demigod taking a turn at the wheel except for Austin, who was, at fifteen, two years younger than everyone else and without a license. He didn't think it mattered, but Will was obstinate.

They only stopped for bathroom breaks- every few hours, they'd come along a restroom built into the walls. Daedalus, it had turned out, apparently _had_ thought of everything.

The memories of the beasts and Rashidah were still strong in their minds; indeed the memories of everything that had happened starting from the burning of The Hills were manifested in their minds with with curious intensity.

But they knew there was nothing they could do, so they held their emotions in and continued on their way.

* * *

When Raymond Crafts awoke that morning, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Gone was the pre-dawn silence that usually permeated the crisp early morning.

Someone banged on his door, the thick raps echoing in his skull.

He pulled it open to face a pale Sarah Chew, her black eyes wide in fear. "Crafts- something's wrong, you have to see…"

He shoved her aside as he pulled on his military blazer, hurrying down the steps.

Outside the Big House, he could see the Campers standing silently outside their cabins, their eyes turned towards the structure. Something was dancing in the icy air, something vaguely triumphant and promising.

He ran out to where a fuming Dominique and silent Ethan Nakamura were standing and stared up at the Big House.

Before he could make out the source of the dissent, something large and silken fell upon him, thrown down by the morning winds. His eyes were filled with damp purple and he pulled it off- it was the flag of Kronos. He felt the familiar anger, tinged with a doubt of fear, and held it by its edges, looking at his comrades.

Finally, Raymond turned his eyes to the skies and what he saw cause fury to erupt in molten waves of hell inside him.

Fluttering gently in the winter breeze was the orange flag of Camp Half-Blood, stark against the grey skies, its banner proud and free.

ooOOoo

Raymond hurried up to his room, with Dominique and Nakamura hot on his heels. Throwing his door wide open, he lunged towards his desk to get his log book. The moment he picked it up, however, he knew something was very, very wrong.

The book was not the right one. They scoured the room in fits of urgency, but turned up with nothing.

"It's the bastard Rodriguez and that whore Silena!" He shouted, slashing a furious arm across the air and upsetting his files, papers drifting to the floor in a mess.

"But we have no proof-" Ethan began but Crafts cut him off and turned to Dominique.

"Get your men outside, arrest them and bring them here immediately." He glared at Nakamura, then, daring him to say anything in defiance. The boy wisely kept his mouth shut.

Dominique nodded and hurried out of the room. Fear filled Crafts suddenly and he began to shake. He exchanged a look with Nakamura before stalking out of the room.

ooOOoo

Chris and Silena were part of the horde standing outside their cabins when Dominique and a group of The Golden began rushing to them. With a flash of realisation, Chris knew he was doomed.

Just as the boy barked his name and he was caught by the guards, Chris thanked the Gods that he had had the foresight to pass the Log Book to Nyssa that morning; she had hidden in the underground bunker.

The other campers made a gap as The Golden's cold hands gripped his arms and before he knew it, he was being dragged through to the snow towards the Big House. He vaguely saw the same thing being done to Silena.

He thought he saw some of the campers press forward to get his aid, but the firing of guns caused a new silence to ripple over the crowd.

"Stay back!" Dominique barked, "No one interferes or I'll shoot!"

That was enough of a threat as they were being dragged away.

ooOOoo

They were brought to the basement of the Big House, and tossed into one of the rooms. A horde of the Golden was already standing there, the dark lit up by the harsh screaming of an overhead light.

Raymond Crafts stood in the forefront, his face blazing with quiet fury.

"I will ask this once." He began as Chris and Silena were shoved to the floor. "Where the hell is my log book?"

"What?" Chris tried for innocence but the boy gave him a sharp kick to his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Silena gave a little screech.

"I know you bastards took it! Where the fuck is my log book! And it was you who were behind that little antic with the flag wasn't it?!" Raising his head, Chris recognised the look in Crafts's eyes. The boy was beyond angry; this was pure madness trifling with some sort of fear.

"I don't know-" Silena rasped, trying for a different angle as she begged, "Please, _please_ we weren't involved-"

Crafts held up a hand and two of his men picked the girl up by her arms and slammed her against the wall.

Chris made to move but he was knocked to the floor again, he tasted the metallic tang of blood as it spilled over in his mouth and his head began to ring with the fierceness of pain.

Silena had begun to scream, but blocked by his angle, he couldn't tell what was going on.

"You will tell me the truth," he heard Crafts whisper softly, "or else."

"I don't know! I don't know, please! Please don't, _please!_" Horrible screaming began to fill the room and Chris could smell faint smoke rushing over the sounds that were raising the hairs on the back of his arms. Twisting his head in a sudden silence, he saw Crafts remove something from Silena, something slim and electric- the girl was doubled over in pain, shaking furiously.

Chris made to stand up and a couple of the Golden helped him, strapping him to a chair by his arms. He couldn't understand what was happening- there was too much going on and then it happened- his flesh ripping into two as someone hit him hard with a whip, the rope cutting into his skin and the demons were out and they were racing and- again and again he fell, as the pain overtook him, consumed him-

And then he was alone, and there was silence as both Silena and he were left alone for a few glorious seconds.

"Chain them up." Crafts sneered and guards rushed forward to carry out the order. "We have other things to take care of."

He turned to leave the room, but cast the shaking guards a final look, "You will talk, when I return."

ooOOoo

The Aphrodite campers were huddled in their cabin, their breaths rising furiously as one. They had seen Silena being dragged off with Chris, but had not dared to intervene. Mitchell and Drew exchanged a frightened glance; it had to be about last night.

"What's going on? Why did they take them?" Lacy asked, her voice trembling. To her surprise, it was Drew who crossed over to her to drape an arm around her shoulders.

"its okay, Lacy," she said urgently, "we'll be fine-"

The pastel door slammed open, sending pictures in glass frames crashing to the floor. She recognised Dominique as he led three other guards in, their eyes scanning the cabin before they finally rested on Mitchell. Those keen eyes seemed to make a decision in the fear-drenched air.

"Take that one." He said finally, pointing to Mitchell.

The boy only had time to flash his eyes open wider in shock as the guards descended upon him, pinning him to the wall. There was some screaming from the frightened campers.

Drew managed to croak in charmspeak, "Dominique- what has my brother done? You've got the wrong-"

"Shut up, whore!" The boy yelled as he slapped her across the face; she fell to the ground, head spinning. "You're sister has been found guilty of treason!" He announced to the cabin, "And we will be taking him as punishment!"

Mitchell looked at them, his face pale as they dragged him out the room. Somewhere in the Hermes cabin, the same was being done to a camper named Jacqueline Pereira.

As Drew made her way up from the floor, she began to think fast and hard. She ran into the bathrooms with her transmitter, praying that Malcolm and Nyssa would be connected.

"They've taken Mitchell." She rasped, her thoughts spilling over one another as she shivered from nerves and the icy air. "Guys, what the hades do I do now?"

Nyssa's urgent voice dripped through the wire, "Come to the bunker. Now."

ooOOoo

Ethan Nakamura was guarding the doors to the room where Silena and Chris were being interrogated when he saw Dominique and Crafts beginning to drag Mitchell in.

"Hold on a minute," he said, "What's this one got to do with any of this?"

"Who knows?" Crafts spat, "But his sister was involved."

Ethan felt that familiar throb of discomfort. "If he wasn't involved, Crafts, there's no reason to-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"

Ethan took a step backwards but held his ground, thinking about what he was supposed to stand for; what he thought they stood for.

"This isn't justice, Crafts. Let the boy go."

"To hell with justice!" Crafts took a deep breath and spoke somewhat calmly, "Nakamura, move aside."

It was an easy decision for the son of Nemesis to make. "I won't."

Blows began raining on him then, thick blows from all around, crushing him under the sheer weight of their fury- the light from overhead danced sporadically in his eyes as he tried to defend himself, but the door opened and he saw the Aphrodite boy being tossed into the room as well.

"Take him to the other room. Lock up him." He heard Crafts say through the haze, he could feel his face swelling and blood trickling down into his lips. He felt hands pick him up as Crafts orders were obeyed, and he was too weak to move.

* * *

They had reached the end of the road, a thick wall cutting them off.

"What now?" Austin asked as they stared at the blank stretch.

"It's got to lead to somewhere. It just has to!" said Katie.

They quickly got out of the car, their eyes and hands running over the wall for any sort of answer, any possible clue-

"Hey, Will..." Austin blurted, "Pass me the spider."

Will stretched the invention towards his brother, who angled it over what seemed to be a small crater in the blank wall before he pressed it in.

* * *

Jake Mason stared as Silena and Malcolm burst through the doors of his cabin.

"What's going on?"

Nyssa stepped forward, worry painted on her face. "Jake, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but this is important."

Before her brother could protest, she grabbed each of them by the arms and led them down to the bunker.

When they finally reached, she took a deep breath.

"I have a feeling Crafts has reached the end of the rope." Malcolm said, "He's going to do something big, I can feel it. Something's going to happen."

Drew nodded but at that moment a sort of tapping noise began to echo from off one of the walls. Gripped in fear, they stood and watched as a slit in the wall came into view and pushed apart, revealing a shock of darkness behind it.

Through the dust, they made out a set of figures.

"Well, this isn't a bad surprise." A familiar voice rang and they stared in astonishment at the face of Connor Stoll.

Will spoke first, "Are we at Camp?"

Nyssa nodded weakly, the sight of all the fugitives too much of her. Hades, even Clarisse was there- an extremely fragile looking Clarisse, but still.

Travis stepped forward as well, affectionately petting the hood of- was that a car?- behind him. "Home sweet home, guys."

Drew spoke first. "What in the name of hades is going on?"

Austin came forward. "We're back."

"From where?" Malcolm yelped.

"Here, there…" Connor shrugged, "We broke into The Hills to get a couple of people out, then we went to get weapons- you need them, yes?"

They began drawing the bags filled with weapons out, much to the surprise of the other three.

"Which part are we?" Will frowned, "I've never seen-"

"The underground bunker of the Hephaestus cabin." Nyssa shook her head.

"Ah, so the spider works as a key as well." Austin nodded.

Malcolm came to his senses first. "If you went to The Hills- and it must have been successful, since Clarisse and Travis are here- where the hades are the rest?" He squinted at Will, noting the pain in his eyes. "And I thought Kayla was with you?"

"I failed at the Hills." The son of Apollo stated. "We're- we're all that's left. And Kayla- she… she didn't make it."

A collective drop of depression seemed to gather within the group and Drew decided to be the one to break it.

"You've come just in time- Crafts is going absolutely crazy." Was this really happening?

Jake Mason had made his way down as well, seeing who was in the supposedly top secret bunker; he gave a yelp and started backwards.

"What's up?" She breathed.

"Crafts has called for an assembly." Her brother gasped as he shook his head, trying to clear it. He turned to look at Will and gang. "Please tell me what's going on." He said weakly.

"We're back, as if that isn't obvious." Connor quipped.

"And we're ready to fight." Clarisse announced, tugging her ponytail.

Malcolm shook his head. "Wait here." Clarisse bristled, but he pressed on, "Something big has happened and if Crafts sees you guys he might just start pulling fire on all of us."

"Where's Chris?" Clarisse asked. Drew made to speak but Malcolm shook his head, knowing that he wouldn't be able to contain the girl if she knew. "He's fine." He lied.

Nyssa pressed her transmitter into Will's hand. "Take this." She said, "We'll have a means of communication this way."

The boy nodded.

"We'll be back real soon." Malcolm said as the rest of his friends began to get into the elevator.

"Wait!" Will rushed, grabbing something from the briefcase and pressing it into Malcolm's hands, his eyes dancing with urgency. "Take this, I don't know what's happening out there, but knowing Crafts, it can't be good."

Malcolm took the object and nodded as he went into the lift with his friends.

It was time.


	18. This is the morning

They ascended to see the rest of the camp standing in a clump in front of the Big House, organised by cabin. To the left of the structure, there stood a decent sized helicopter, and had any of them read the Log Book, they would have known what it was for. As they came closer to the crowd through the trembling wind, they noticed the Golden standing in front of the crowd, Raymond in the lead. Two battered and bruised people in chains stood just behind them and with a sharp intake of breath, Drew noted that they were Mitchell and Jacqueline.

Crafts waited until the roll call of all the campers had been taken before he spoke, his voice harsh and biting.

"You may have noticed that this morning, the flag of our Lord Kronos was disrespected." No one else spoke except the wind, urging the boy on. "This has been one in a steady stream of events that deserve punishment; two of your fellows have been taken in and found guilty." Raymond paused, gesturing to Mitchell and Jacqueline who were barely conscious, their faces beginning to bruise. He had kept Silena and Chris to further interrogate them, but had decided that he would have to make an example of someone, in any case.

Nyssa's face crumpled in guilt and fear for Mitchell. What the hades was she going to do now?

"The punishment for their irreverence will be death." There was a silence as the full weight of his words sunk in. Two of his guards thrust the prisoners forward, their knees buckling as they crashed onto the sleet. A collective beast of horror rose in the icy air as Crafts began to say in a steady crescendo, "As punishment for the crimes of treason and dishonour to the Lord and State…"

Soldiers raised their guns to fire and a deafening shot whipped through the air like the crackling of a whip.

Raymond Crafts toppled forwards onto the pure snow, staining its innocence with a blinding, furious red. Somewhere in the crowd, Malcolm was taking deep breaths, sweaty palms gripping the revolver that Will had passed him mere minutes ago.

Everyone stared in shock and the corpse of the former leader of the Golden. The heartbeat of the silence resounded throughout the snow-capped landscape, eyes widening and hearts growing. Something seemed to crack as one for all the campers.

Roused to action by the death of their main enemy and the sight of the flag of Camp Half-Blood whipping madly in the winter breeze, they surged forwards as one. They had no weapons, but they had fury on their side. The Golden were outnumbered and they didn't bother to put up a fight as they rushed towards the helicopter, its wings slicing madly through the air.

"Set fire to the armoury!" They heard Dominique shout, and the cluster of guards who kept vigil over the store of the weapons hurriedly torched the building before they ran towards the helicopter, the wild screaming of the campers echoing death in their ears.

The machine lifted into the air, jolting as it did before it started racing through the pale blue skies. Amazed by the ease of their victory, cheers began to rise from the Campers. The two remaining children of Apollo who were left at camp after the Escape rushed forward with the Aphrodite and Hermes cabin as they began to try healing Mitchell and Jacqueline.

"They have Silena and Ethan." The boy croaked as his eyes grew brighter, "They were in such bad shape… The basement…"

"I'm on it." Drew muttered, rising from her knees with Malcolm and rushing into the Big House.

Nyssa pulled out the transmitter and spoke into it, breathless, "Will, you there?"

"What's going on?"

"The Golden…" she pressed through the joyful chorus of celebrating campers, "They've left."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." A stray thought gripped her, "There's this red book in the bunker, I've put it on top of the desk. It's important; bring it up, will you?"

"Yeah, we'll be there." The girl turned her attention to Mitchell who was already beginning to look better; she gripped his arm in relief. Around Jacqueline, her siblings were supporting her as she began to heal.

Through the crescendo of joy and triumph, she noticed the band of escapees coming out of the Hephaestus cabin. "Stolls, guys, over here!" She shouted, her voice cutting through the crowd.

At the sound of the forbidden names, the heads of the campers begin to turn towards the band of six. Once again, silence fell through the crowd as they began to walk forward. Then, triumphant cheers began to shout from their friends and siblings and they were engulfed in hugs and fanfares of joy, the Stolls waving as though they were royalty.

"Clarisse and Travis?" A voice grinned, "You guys went to The Hills? But where are the rest?"

The faces of the six paled as Will muttered, "Something went wrong… This is all that's left." The mood dropped as the siblings of those who had been kept in the prison began to feel a new and keen sorrow overcome them. But the events of the day were too much for the crowd in general and they had to decide what to do next.

At that moment, Malcolm and Drew reappeared from the Big House, supporting Chris and Silena. Next to Will, Clarisse's eyes grew wide at the sight of her bruised friends and she hurried forward.

"Chris, you idiot!" She yelled as she knelt next to him, Will and Austin coming to kneel next to her as their voices danced in the ancient healing hymns. Clarisse's eyes flicked to Silena, who was being healed by the other Apollo children.

After a few minutes, Chris blinked his crusty eyes open, the scars on his back beginning to heal. "Clarisse?" He croaked as he cleared his head. "Clarisse!" He yelled joyfully. Taking in her weakened state, he frowned in concern. "What happened to you?"

"I should you ask you the same, punk!" She hissed as a grin came to play on her face. To everyone's surprise, she leant forward and hugged him and he returned the gesture; it had been so long since the both of them had seen each other, and they had been so worried the whole time that they were now drenched in heady relief. Clarisse broke away, painting a quick scowl on her face. "Alright, that's enough."

Her hard eyes flicked to Silena, who was being fed pieces of ambrosia. The daughter of Aphrodite returned her gaze worriedly. "Hi." She finally muttered.

Clarisse turned to Chris, "What's up with her?" She grumbled and Silena looked away.

Chris bit his lip, "Clarisse… Silena's on our side now-"

"Bullshit." The girl snarled, "We trusted her once and look where we ended up."

"I promise you, she's been helping us on various resistance missions-"

"Let her speak for herself!" Clarisse glared, turning to the girl. There was a frigid silence before she spoke.

"I'm sorry." Silena said simply. "I really am, and I can totally understand if you never trust me again, but Clarisse… I'm really sorry."

Something in Clarisse's eyes softened but her lips remained hard. "We'll see." She said finally, turning back to Chris.

Not far off, Will, Nyssa, the Stolls and a few others were gathered around the Log Book. Nyssa flicked hurriedly through the pages. "In the event of an unquenchable rebellion, which might be fast approaching given the current circumstances, the Golden members are to leave the Camp and return to New York."

"This is too easy." Will frowned and the rest of them nodded.

Nyssa flipped to the next page and her face paled as she began to read what was written there in Craft's careful hand.

* * *

The helicopter landed in New York just outside the empire state and a stream of the Golden drifted out, their faces fearful.

They pushed past the doors and rushed towards the man at security who was sitting with a depressed expression on his pudgy face.

"Six hundredth floor." Dominique commanded. "And hurry up, you do not want to keep our Lord Kronos waiting, do you?"

The man took one look at their uniforms and nodded wearily. From another side of the lobby, a few of the city-based members of the Golden stared up from their clipboards. They looked curiously at the camper-division of their own.

"Dominique?" One of them said, "What in hell are you doing here? Where in hell is Crafts?"

"Dead." The boy said as they entered the lifts and made the trip up in silence.

The city of Olympus looked very different; the old statues of the Gods had been torn down and replaced with stern figures of the Titans and most of the minor gods, their cold marble eyes glaring down from above. The skies swirled in a palette of grey and purple. Monsters and demigods alike looked up from their duties as the defeated band trooped towards the Council Building.

A guard stopped them before they could enter. "Do you have an appointment with the Lord Kronos, godling?"

"This is important." Dominique said. "It's about the Camp. We have to see Lord Kronos now."

"About the camp?" The guard put two and two together and ushered them in, "He's not going to be happy, you know."

Kronos was seated at the far end of the council, his face shrouded in shadow. Dominique had already transmitted the message to him from the helicopter and the group bowed, swallowing their fear.

"My Lord." Dominique said, raising his eyes. He sensed, rather than saw- for he dared not look him in the face- the fury raging inside the Titan's eyes. Kronos beckoned him forward and he came. The Titan gestured for him to kneel and he did so, trying desperately not to shake before his presence.

With a swift and steady hand, Kronos drew his sword and sliced it against the boy's neck. His decapitated body rolled to the floor beneath his feet and the rest of The Golden who had come with him began to shake. "It is a pity," he said sadly, "but he failed terribly. We are better than this, my children; you are the ones who should strive to be above failure."

"We will go back and take the Camp as planned." Kronos's voice crept throughout the room, filling in the gaps and crevices. "It is clear to me now that the demigod beasts will not allow themselves to be groomed. Mercy is wasted on the those who are incorrigible. My rule is just; there is no discrimination, all are equal despite the taint of their Godly parent. And yet the Campers still want to defy our rule? Do you not see, my children, how eager they are to return to corruption?"

"Yes, my Lord." The weak voices tightened.

"Do you not agree that such a stain upon the glory of the New Age must be wiped out, for the good of humanity?" He asked almost mournfully.

"Yes, my Lord." Their strain was stronger now, more focused and willing.

Kronos stood up and began to walk forwards and the Golden tried not to draw back. A dracaena entered then, her eyes flashing. "My Lord?"

"How many troops are at the ready?"

"At least two hundred, sir." She bowed and he nodded.

His eyes turned towards the daughter of Hebe who had helped Drew that night. "How many half-bloods remain, are you aware?"

"Not more than fifty." She whispered, "There were no more than fifty as of the last roll call this morning."

He turned back to the dracaena, "There is no hope for them." He said in a curious whisper. "We will dispose of them, these children of sin. Their memories will be no more than a slash of defeat on the board of time and may they serve as an example to anyone who may think that they can overcome the might of the Titans. It is fair."

He ushered the Golden to stand. "Go rally the troops and give the orders. We want to be ready to attack in an hour, as planned."

One of them spoke, his voice teetering on the edge of a precipice in the cold hall, "Will we report to you sir, after the battle?"

Kronos tilted his head, running his fingers over his sword. "After the battle? I will be in the fray myself." He said, his golden eyes glowing with a deathly promise. "I want to see this destruction of the Campers, I want to feel their despair as they fall around our might. I want to see the defeat in their eyes as we rise triumphant. I want their fall to be slow and painful. I want to them to see the new age rising around them as they die; and then they will know, as their parents do now, the might of the Titans."


	19. Call down the seraphs

"Guys!" Nyssa shouted into the chaos as she tried to capture the attention of the Campers. The wind tugged at her hair, sending its dark strands spiralling in the icy air. Her voice was drowned out by the noise. "Guys!" She tried again, achieving no response.

Clarisse pulled herself up onto the podium. "PUNKS!" She shouted and everyone turned to stare at her. She could hear the fragile whispers detailing her current state but she ignored them. Chris was still grinning like an idiot and she rolled her eyes.

"Thanks." Nyssa muttered and spoke, "There's something really important I have to say about The Golden!"

"They're gone!" a gleeful voice triumphed, "let's celebrate!"

"They've fallen back, yeah, but they're not gone." She held up the log book. "They'll be back and it's not going to be pleasant."

The celebratory mood was stolen away then, something dark and ominous replacing it.

"How do you know?"

"We stole this from them last night when the flag went up!" She shouted, gesturing to the red book again. "It says so in here."

The mutterings began, frantic and urgent.

Standing next to her, Will proclaimed, "We have to prepare for the battle. They could be here anytime."

The beast moved as one, shouts to one another sailing on the winter air.

"Why don't we just get out of here?" A sullen voice asked, "If they're coming back you can be sure they'll be bringing all they have. Why don't we leave while we have a chance?"

The statement was met with disdain from some but it hit a chord with others, and murmurs of agreement began to twist their way through the throng.

"Yeah, let's just go! We can go somewhere away from here… We don't stand a chance in Hades anyway."

Clarisse watched all this, seething. As arguments began to break through the campers, she shouted, "Guys! Guys, listen to me FOR THE SAKE OF THE GODS."

Silence fell once more as they all angled towards her.

Taking a deep breath as the pale sun glinted in her eyes, she spoke. "Some of you want to leave? That's fine by me; I don't want cowards fighting here, anyway. So go, no one's guarding the gateway anymore. Go!" She paused. "But as for me, I'm staying. Some of you might remember what happened here a year ago, when our friends who lived here died here as well. Some of you might not think it's important, I don't care. But I think all of you remember what happened at Manhattan just months ago. And if you think our friends died for nothing, leave. But I'm staying because I'm not going to let them take this Camp away from me that at easily. I'm staying because they're going to have to fight for it!"

She stared at the gathered crowd, amongst the familiar faces that she knew so well.

"So if you still don't think its important, go. No one's going to stop you. But if you think that this place is worth something, then prove it. Stay and fight!"

Blushing slightly, she stepped down from the podium, glaring into the throng of assorted campers. Then, cheers began to erupt from the crowd and she could sense the new triumph rising within them, unity as it battled fear. Chris ruffled her hair and she elbowed him.

"Cabin counsellors, to me, please." Will said, "We have to go over the strategies for defence."

"Everyone else go get ready!" Clarisse yelled.

The counsellors from the twenty cabins clustered around them, Silena hesitantly wondering if she should stand for her cabin.

Drew looked at her, not unkindly, and gestured her to go. "Go." She muttered, walking off with Mitchell.

* * *

Ethan Nakamura blinked as he tried to open his eyes, feeling the puffy skin around them throb. He was cloaked in utter darkness, and he could not move. His limbs were rocks weighing him down, and they _ached_.

He felt raw and scraped.

He did not know how long he had been lying there like a broken, discarded toy, alone and afraid. He could feel something fiery ignite his bones somewhere along his abdomen and the stench of blood permeated his being. He raised a trembling finger and pressed it to his stomach; he touched something slick and sticky.

There had to be some way for him to stop the bleeding, but his chest was constricted. He could feel what he was; a collection of pale broken bones and bruises even as he leaked away slowly into cold fingers.

There was nothing he could do.

Ethan Nakamura was dying.

* * *

The Apollo cabin was gathered together, checking their weapons. As usual, they were the designated archers. Work with what you know. Austin ran a finger along his bow, savouring the feel of it.

Next to him, Will was preparing their supplies, shaking his head at some of the materials and replacing them with others.

It felt good to be home.

They'd been gone for only two weeks, but Camp as they knew it had been gone for months before this. Now, with the sun peeking through the faint flakes of snow, Will thought it finally felt like home again.

At the back of their cabin, instruments glittered in the smiling beams of sunlight.

_You want to lead your cabin to war, boy? You want to lead them to death again? Good luck dying, that's what your leadership does, don't you know? That's all it did and all it ever will-_

Will took a deep breath and looked at his remaining siblings, proud gleams in their eyes even through the haze of fear. He would be like them, he thought, he would be like Lee and Michael before him. He might be able to make them proud.

ooOOoo

The Stoll brothers waited outside the Hermes cabin, where the rest of their siblings were waiting for their briefing. Shouts began to echo from inside and they could tell the usual arguments were going on. Their suspicions were confirmed as a pair of sneakers flew out of the window, accompanied by the sound of things breaking and more raised voices.

"Just like old times, eh?" Travis asked nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Connor whispered and his brother frowned. Something was wrong, he could tell. Looking at Connor, he realised how wide his eyes were. He was furiously reminded of a time when they were both younger; when they first learned that their mother was sick. He'd had that same, frightened deer look in his eyes.

_ What are we going to do now? I'm scared._

And now they were older and there was no way in hades his brother would admit it, but Travis knew. And he was scared too; so afraid that it was a wonder that his knees weren't buckling. But if there was one thing he learned on his trip, it was that leaders didn't shake.

"You okay?" He asked Connor quietly.

"Yeah, man. I'm totally fine. Big army's coming after us, but hey, no big deal. Another day in the life- Okay, I'm scared." He channelled his gaze towards the snow-capped mountains. "At least back at Manhattan we had Percy the _invulnerable_ but now we have nothing."

Travis briefly entertained the fleeting thought of saying something corny like, "At least we have each other." He would have said it sarcastically, his lips twisting the words. But it was true, kind of.

"You have me, that's a guarantee of a win." He said smoothly, "Travis Stoll, slayer of Titans and defender of the weak…"

Connor snorted, rolling his eyes. "You? Please, that's a guarantee of a loss. And you _are_ the weak." He paused, his voice trembling slightly. "But yeah, I'm okay. Sure."

Their banter was easy, but they were still afraid.

But when they entered their cabin, expertly catching the items thrown at them, their expressions were cocky and their eyes glinting with mischief. The Stolls may be called hopeless fools who only knew how to prank people and lighten up a situation with bad jokes, but there was their reputation, wasn't it?

They were scared but they were going to hold on to that reputation because they knew that their siblings needed something constant. And hey, even if that variable was their stupidity, at least it was something to hold on to.

ooOOoo

"So," Clarisse commanded, facing her remaining siblings. The thought of Divyan and Sherman fuelled her with the necessary courage. "We're going to be on the front lines." That was the norm for the Ares cabin after all, always the first to battle, always the pioneers to death.

"So punks, I don't want any of you losers quitting on me. If you falter in front of their armies, you're no good as a child of Ares, aren't you?"

They responded with sarcastic cheers and she felt a corner of her lips quirk up. Whatever else you had to say about the Ares cabin, they weren't cowards.

Outside her window, she saw Silena pass with scrolls in her hands, penned strategies no doubt. The girl noticed her looking and stared back for a second before smiling tentatively. Clarisse nodded before turning back to her siblings.

Silena guessed that was as good as she was going to get.

ooOOoo

The Hephaestus kids were out by Thalia's Pine, gathered around Peleus as they checked the dragon. It gave a mournful whimper, its neck creaking.

Nyssa wrinkled her nose. "Gods, when was the last time we checked him?"

Jake Mason responded half-heartedly, his attention focused on the beast. "Beckendorf was- oh." He trailed off. "You know."

Nyssa grabbed a bucket of oil and poured some of it into the dragon, squinting as she measured in the perfect amount.

It was one in the afternoon already, about forty minutes since the Golden had left. She just wanted to them to come back- well, not really- but what she did want was to get this over and done with.

She remembered Beckendorf's calm manner when he spoke to them just before the Battle of the Labyrinth, the last time they'd fought together.

* * *

Kronos walked amongst the minor Gods and Titans as they went over their plans. Outside, his armies were being briefed.

"I have not seen my son." Nemesis stated, her cold eyes tracing the gathered troops. "Where is he?"

Kronos shrugged, "Perhaps he was taken when the campers overran our troops."

The goddess shook her head, "I confess myself disappointed by the boy. He had much promise but I suppose it all amounted to nothing."

Facing a roaring fireplace at the other end of the room, Morpheus raised his head, his eyes like empty tunnels. "Do you wish to evacuate our children from the camp first, my Lord?" Some of the minor gods raised their heads.

"They have chosen their side." Kronos stated simply, ignoring the slightly fallen expression on Morpheus's face, like dying leaves. "Nemesis would agree with me. People choose their own fates, as is fair."

The goddess nodded, her marble-like face free of expression. "They have chosen their path, Morpheus."

"So they have." The god said finally, turning back to face the flickering fire.

"Excuse me, my Lord." Nemesis bowed as she rose. "I shall take it upon myself to check our troops."

Kronos nodded and she left the hall, shutting the ornate door behind her, its carved whirls cold under her fingertips.

She stared impassively at the faces of the demigods, smartly swathed in their uniforms. Expressions of mingled fear and determination littered their faces. She gestured to one of them, a girl. Hebe's daughter, perhaps. There was a family resemblance in the youthful glow she bore, something about her eyes.

The daughter bowed as she knelt before Nemesis.

"What is your name?"

"Lynette." The girl breathed. "Lynette Albers."

Nemesis nodded, "Tell me, Lynette, do you know what may have happened to an Ethan Nakamura?"

The girl hesitated, frowning as she tried to remember. "I'm not sure… But I think that Raymond arrested him back at Camp?"

A frown breathed across Nemesis's forehead for a brief moment. "What for?"

"We arrested two of the campers; they were involved in treasonous activity. I'm not sure, but I think Ethan was trying to stop Crafts from taking them away."

"Where is he now?"

The girl swept her eyes around the gathered army, a thick wall of bristling determination. "I don't know- I thought he was with us. I'm sorry, I didn't notice… I had other things on my mind."

Nemesis nodded and dismissed the girl with a wave of her hand.

Staring out into the distance, she mulled over the news. It seemed that Ethan had betrayed them and she felt a rush of disappointment, which she ignored. She stepped back into the hall where Kronos and Morpheus were debating the best way to attack and moved towards Hecate, who sat at the far end of the room, watching the proceedings.

She hoped the goddess of magic would be able to give her insight into the location of her disappointment, her son.


	20. Shadows ask for starlight

Butch, the son of Iris, raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes; he made sure to focus carefully, the mixture of bursting sun and pristine snow was screwing with his vision a little. He was caught in a gust of icy wind for a minute, up there above it all, he felt free and distant.

That was about to end. A shadow was marching up Half-Blood hill, a dark crescent of various shades and forms.

Butch hurriedly picked up the bugle and blew, the mournful deep sound emanating throughout the camp. A hurried noise behind him caused him to turn and he saw Will Solace crumble up the platform, panting.

"Let me see?" The boy asked and he wordlessly handed him the binoculars. Will's face paled as he stared at the approaching swell. "Thanks." He muttered, pushing the binoculars back to Butch before racing down the steps and towards where his own cabin was gathered, their faces fearful yet determined.

"We're outnumbered." He said in aside to Austin, he could sense the news rippling throughout the campers; Butch had passed it around, no doubt.

"How many?" His younger brother asked, his voice quavering slightly. He took a breath. "How many?" he asked again.

Will shook his head, gripping his bow. "I'd say at least three to one."

Austin grimaced.

Behind them, he could hear the counsellors yell out instructions, their voices vibrating with authority. Distantly, he heard Clarisse extolling her troops.

The shadow was now coming into form as they steadily crept nearer. Will could faintly make out the individual faces of the front lines. It was a mash of beasts and demigods alike.

"Get ready." He said quietly to his siblings, the demons in his mind screaming louder with each passing second.

_To death, to death, to death, to death. To death you lead them, to death they come._

"Shut up!" Will finally shouted and Austin swung around to him, frowning.

"You okay?"

Will took a deep breath, willing himself to remain strong for their sake. "Yeah… I'm fine."

_A leader does not show fear._ The voice this time was different, encouraging and he collected himself. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Yeah, okay." Austin replied, looking at him uneasily.

Will had a sudden flash of thought, "Austin, I have to be here, but can you go down to the bunker? There's a horn in Marty's front seat, do you know it?"

"Yeah," the boy was jolted by the urgency in his brother's voice.

"Blow into it, that's all. And then come back!"

"What, why?"

"It _may_ give us a chance, just go do it, hurry!"

Austin cast him a final bewildered look before racing off through the white. Will turned back towards the enemy.

They could _hear_ the army now, the trampling of their feet and the wildness of their eyes striking fear inside of them, growing slowly.

From his tower above, Butch blew the bugle again, the mournful yet vaguely compelling sound making its acquaintance with the frigid air once again.

Will bit down his fear and looked towards his siblings. He thought one of them had tears in his eyes and he nodded in understanding and encouragement.

"We'll get through this." He promised and raised his bow. They did the same.

The armies of Kronos had stopped just in front of the borders of Camp- which were broken now, obviously, what with had been going on since the invasion- a few minutes away.

Will could feel the silence as she wrapped herself gently around his bones. His hands steady, he gripped the polished wood of his bow a little bit harder.

He could hear the screaming fear emitting off everyone there and he waited for the signal, waited through that clear, gnashing silence.

Then he saw it and he released his arrows, the rest of his cabin doing the same. The twang of the arrows leaping off the bowstrings sent a familiar thrum of comfort amongst them as they sailed through the winter air, cutting across the emerald pines.

The armies of Kronos made no sound as a few of their own toppled to the ground. Like Genghis Khan centuries ago, they had found that fear was more helpful in the silence.

At the same time, the Campers had found a new strength in the dance of the arrows as the forces of Kronos surged forward towards them.

The music had come back, and it had begun.

* * *

From afar, the minor Gods and Titans watched as the battle commenced, both sides meeting with a heady clash that rang through the chilly, pale afternoon.

Nemesis stared towards Kronos, who had an expression of pride painted on his face.

"My Lord," she inclined her head, "If I may go to the trees and see if they have spirits within them, they might aid us in the battle."

"You think the nymphs and the nature spirits will fight for us?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It is worth a try."

"Very well. See our numbers, we are winning anyway."

Nemesis walked into the thicket of trees, their greenish black filling her eyes with the dark. Hecate had located her son; he was in the basement of what the camper called the Big House. Hecate had understood Nemesis's need to see her child one more time and had granted her with a charm that would enable her to reach him.

Clutching a pearly sphere in her hands, Nemesis waited as she flashed through time and space, finally reaching a musty and dark enclosed space.

The sticky tinge of blood made her wrinkle her nose, lines marring the perfection of her features.

In a pathetic, groaning heap on the floor, Ethan Nakamura lay.

She battled concern for half a second before kneeling down beside him. He was badly injured and half dead, but alive.

"Nakamura." She chided, and he turned a grotesque face of purple and yellow towards her.

"Mother?" She brushed away his childish question, grappling in her pockets for a silvery bottle that Hecate had provided her just in case.

She poured the pale liquid down her son's throat, glaring as his features shrunk to normal, strength returning to his eyes. The angry slashes on his body shrunk to small, peckish scars and the bruises paled.

After a few minutes, Nakamura creakily sat up.

"Thank you, mother."

She sneered, "Silence, foolish child." A child-like look of hurt whipped across his face but he nodded. "I have been told that you betrayed us."

Nakamura glared at her. "Crafts wanted to torture someone who had no involvement in a crime. I was just trying to stop that. Is that not fair?"

Her eyes widened. "Is that true?"

"Yes." He said sulkily. "It doesn't matter; anyway, I've got to go get his prisoner before-"

"Crafts is dead." She said as her son got to his feet. "You have laid here for many minutes. War has come to the Camp; our armies pitched against the campers. We aim to kill."

"What?" Ethan asked groggily, "All of them?"

Nemesis pursed her lips, brushing away the subject. "Will you restore justice, Nakamura?"

The boy nodded. "I don't know how but-"

"Do you remember the faces of those who destroyed The Hills?"

Anger crept into his face. "Yes."

"They are here, fighting against us. Do your duty against them, as is fair."

"What about the battle itself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Which side do I fight on?"

"You are no longer on ours?"

Ethan pursed his lips; Nemesis appreciated, for once, the fact that he was her son. "I have to choose a side I think is right."

She thought deeply, fitting one piece of a puzzle to another, her mind filled with fiery thoughts of revenge and justice and this_ fairness_.

"Leave." She said to her son and clutched the charm again, disappearing from view.

ooOOoo

Morpheus turned to Kronos, the rest of the minor gods lifting their eyes towards the scene.

"My children fight for the Camp." The god said, "What about them?"

"Your children also fight on my side." He said impatiently. He could see an orange shirt being crushed by a few of his people, the fear on the boy's face evident as his blood stained the snow. Kronos relished this destruction of the defiant.

"I do not want any of them to suffer." Morpheus said mournfully and Kronos glared at him.

"Have you not heard of sacrifice?" He snapped. "Phoenixes rise from the ashes. Besides, the honour of your children was first disrespected by this camp. Upon our victory, I will spare your children if they survive."

A flash of anger raised its sword in Morpheus's eyes but was quickly replaced by the diplomacy of agreement.

* * *

Clarisse was thrusting her sword in all directions, her practiced hand slicing through the fray with precision and expertise. Her lungs and heart screamed at her in glorious cacophony.

This was where the daughter of the war god belonged; in the thick of battle with cowardice and courage around her, and her side to choose.

She parried a blow and twisted her arm, sending one of the enemy flailing into the fluffy snow. Around her, her siblings were locked into personal battles of their own, the sound of metal on metal dancing in the air.

Chris was not far off, pushing a hell-hound back.

Clarisse knew they were outnumbered, she knew their chances of a win were slim, but there was still the _now_ with the thought of victory still not yet dispelled.

And so she fought.

ooOOoo

Katie was trying her hardest to get that pine to fall on a dracaena that was advancing towards her and some of her brothers, but she had not noticed another creeping up behind her.

"Need a hand?" Travis yelled as he fired a couple of shots from his revolver, the celestial bronze bullets etching itself into the skin of the she-beast.

"No!" She shouted, rolling her eyes.

"Is that sarcasm I hear? Oh, Gardner, they may be hope for you yet!"

"Shut up and help me!"

Travis continued to fire from his gun, whistling as he did so to hide the bubbling fear inside of him. The children of Demeter finally got the trees to fall, pinning the beasts under their weight.

ooOOoo

Ethan heard the fight before he saw it, and when he did it was a clash of a few spots of orange between mounting black.

He had no weapons and cast his eyes around. On the porch of the Big House, a small demigod lay with an arrow in his heart. He couldn't have been more than fourteen.

His cold hand held a sword and Ethan pried it from him, leaving him looking almost peaceful. He raced towards the battle, taking a couple of swings in defence as he tried to spot…

Ah.

There was that LaRue girl, one of those fugitives who had destroyed his Camp. Ethan knew already who he was fighting for, but first he had to fulfil his vow of vengeance.

With unnerving grace and skill, the girl manoeuvred through the throng. She had a gift for making war look like a dance, he thought, a gift that only came out in times like these. It was a pity, but at least she would die with that grace.

He leaped towards her, his sword angling inches from her throat when another figure jumped out at him. In fear, he thrust a sword at it; flailing black hair and flashing eyes.

The figure rolled through the dirty snow and Ethan picked himself up, trembling. He thought he saw the LaRue girl fall, and he felt a rush of satisfaction. At the same time, he had probably killed an innocent person. He could feel the guilt overtake him in a heavy wave.

_Is he justice or is he revenge?_

ooOOoo

Clarisse was knocked down by an enemy demigod, who was thrust away by one of her brothers. She picked herself up steadily and turned towards where she thought she had seen two grappling figures land. Her face paled immediately and she rushed towards the figure- there was only one now.

"Chris!" She yelled and the boy turned towards her, free from the battle momentarily. He hurried over towards the figure, kneeling down beside her.

"You stupid Aphrodite girl!" Clarisse muttered as a dark stain began to blossom with stark fingers across her chest.

Silena looked at her, trembling. Her breathing was getting raspier.

"Sorry?"

"What the fuck are you sorry for?" the words trembled out of Clarisse's mouth; they stained the ground. She didn't know what to do, and Silena's blood was becoming the earth.

"I forgive you, okay?" She shouted, "You can't die, Silena, I forgive you!"

Silena's lips lifted a little and she stretched her hand towards her pocket, pulling out what looked like a tiny bronze bird.

"Look." She breathed with difficulty, her face growing paler by the second. "Isn't it pretty?"

Clarisse tried desperately not to break. "Yes… Yes, it's pretty." She tried for a smile.

She had seen many others fall in battle, with wounds similar to what Silena had. She could tell that whoever had done this to her and severed important veins. Silena was going to die.

"I'm sorry. I should have trusted you, in the end. You stupid Aphrodite girl."

"I'm sorry I betrayed all of you, first." Blood had started dribbling out of her lips and Clarisse winced.

"Do you think Charlie will forgive…?"

"Yes." It was probably true.

Silena nodded once more, laying her head sideways into the snow as something inside her blue eyes shrunk into nothingness.

Chris grabbed Clarisse's shoulder as she shook with suppressed sobs. "Hey, Clarisse…"

"I'm fine, Chris." She mumbled. "I'm fine, okay?"


	21. And they will carry the night

Will was feeling more helpless by the minute. Everywhere he looked, he saw more of the enemy approaching, and more of his friends falling to the ground.

Besides him, Austin had used up the last of his arrows and had drawn out his sword. Something sliced past Will's elbow as he swung his own weapon around, remembering his training from Camp.

Slash here, dodge there.

He had no idea of how much time had passed; his only relief was that Kronos didn't seem to be amongst the enemy. Had the horn worked? He had no idea; perhaps the stubbornness of the Hunters had run deeper than he had imagined.

With despair, he noted Butch in his tower in the distance being confronted by a couple of enemy demigods before he thrown from the tower. Will found he could not watch his descent. He continued to fight where he stood on the ground, slashing at a couple of beasts that were advancing on his siblings.

ooOOoo

The battle had been raging on for two hours already and Kronos still watched from afar. The numbers of the Campers were dwindling steadily and he was most pleased.

"When shall we enter the fray?" Nike asked, and he could sense her lust for victory.

"We will strike when they are at their lowest." He mused.

"My Lord," Nike sighed, "Why do you not just assume your true form and crush them all?"

The form of Luke had been most helpful to Kronos when he appeared in front of the mortals; something natural about it helped to dispel a little of their fear and made it easier for them to be controlled.

"Perhaps during the battle when it is deemed necessary." Kronos said, "After all, where will the torture be if the demigods gain a quick death? Better let them suffer slowly."

"Shall we call for a respite in a while?" Nemesis asked from her spot next to Morpheus.

He thought on that.

Nike shrugged. "Victory is within our grasp, anyway. Why not provide our troops some rest?"

Her hungry eyes swept the landscape.

ooOOoo

The call for rest was a much needed one, and Kronos's troops raced across as they got back to their stronghold away from the Camp.

The demigods' numbers were down to perhaps thirty. The other side had losses too, but they were still outnumbered by at least three to one.

The bodies of the dead were brought to the Big House and the members of the Apollo cabin were steadily healing the wounded; patching up a cut here, fixing a wound there.

Will clutched the arm of one of Katie's siblings, his lips dancing fervently in the old healing hymn. He was doing all he possibly could but he could feel the boy's heartbeat slowing down rapidly. In a minute, Will knew he was gone.

He felt a rush of grief and defeat and glanced up at Katie with sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't… I couldn't." He watched the girl's face crumple as she turned away and he moved on to the next almost-corpse.

Luckily, all of his siblings had made it through the battle, but wherever he looked there was death and destruction and mourning.

The air had gone heavy, as if it was grieving too.

He wanted to let himself be engulfed by despair from everything that he had seen and done. It was a miracle that he was still fine.

_You're still alive_; he told himself angrily, _stop complaining. You're still here, you're still alive_…

He managed to heal this one; a slight girl from Aphrodite. Next to the girl, Mitchell and Drew were sitting together shrouded in grief. He had heard that Silena had been killed. Clarisse was not taking it lightly, from what he had heard.

"Kayla," he mumbled absentmindedly before moving on to the next camper. "Fetch me the-"

Wait.

Will stood up somewhat shakily, his hands pushing him up from the snow. He gestured to a now free Austin to do the healing and he hurried towards the trees, waiting until he was completely shadowed by their looming grip. Will dropped his head into his hands and before he knew it, he was sobbing; desperate, wretched sobs that were wracking his body.

Lee. Michael. The Hills. Kayla. Rashidah. Leading. Failing.

It felt cleansing, breathing the wintry air as finally, _finally _he let all it out. And it hurt, so, so much; like picking at a scab, fingers burning into raw flesh.

_ Lee Fletcher on that summer day with the air tasting of strawberries as the club crushed his skull._

_ Michael's single arrow lying silent on the destroyed bridge; the body of his best friend never found._

_ Kayla's frightened face as she went tumbling into the sky._

_The Hills, as they crumbled to ash with the smell of burning flesh in his mind and the screams in his eyes._

_ Rashidah crumpling to the floor, already dead_.

Will gathered himself and the sobs slowed to a trickle. He was still alive. He was still there, and he was going to do what he could. He would make sure, he promised, that the Apollo cabin would not suffer anymore death.

He would not be weak. Will had a duty, he reminded himself, and he was vaguely ashamed of his breakdown as he walked out of the forest, back into the crowd, dropping to continue patching up his fellow campers with fierce intensity.

He had dispelled his demons for now, and he hummed softly to himself as he worked, letting the music bring him a calm strength.

He would make sure his friends had not died in vain.

ooOOoo

Ethan was thinking hard to himself as he stood in a clump of trees; not with the Campers, not with the armies of Kronos but alone in the rapidly darkening skies.

He knew that the Titan lord was merely providing the camp with false hope by not showing up, that sooner or later he would join the battle when it recommenced and then, _then_ there would be true decay. This despair that Camp Half-Blood was going through was merely a premonition, just the prologue.

If only he knew where the hell Kronos's Achilles heel was.

Ethan had had enough of mindless revenge now that he was hell-bent on justice.

In a burst of realisation, he knew what had to be done. He started shaking a little, but he clenched his eyes shut and prayed that this would work.

Huh, he thought wryly to himself, 'pray'.

ooOOoo

Travis and Connor had desperately located each other after the call for respite and they made sure to rearrange their features into ones of nonchalance the minute they stared at each other.

"It's bad." Connor muttered as he brother walked towards him.

"How bad?"

"Like, a-third-of-our-cabin-is-gone bad."

"Oh." Travis said sadly. The youngest member of the cabin, Jacqueline Pereira, was seated on a slab of rock as the other campers hurried around her, voices dancing in urgency or dipping in depression.

They could hear a wail rise from somewhere but didn't want to find out what. Across from them, Malcolm was asking for two shrouds.

The girl was only thirteen and she was trembling madly, tears spilling over her eyes. Connor raised his eyebrows at Travis and they made their way towards her. Her arms were covered with bruises from her brief capture by the Golden, little marks that even the Apollo campers hadn't been able to fully heal.

"Hey Jackie." Travis said lightly as he plunked himself down next to her. She raised her eyes to look at him.

"What's up?"

"I don't want to fight anymore." The girl whispered. "I didn't do anything good, I didn't kill any monsters. My best friend is injured. I don't want to fight anymore."

The brothers racked their brains for any joke they might use to make the situation better but they couldn't find any.

"Hey," Connor said gently and the girl started his tone; usually he carried his words mockingly, in an almost-light but disdainful manner that proclaimed proudly to the world that he, Connor Stoll, did not give a shit. "Hey, remember that time when I stole your camera and accidentally broke it?"

"Yeah?"

"And then I stole one from Butch and gave it to you?"

"Yeah?"

Travis raised his eyebrows, confused, but Connor ended his story.

"The point is, Jackie, it always gets better."

Travis shook his head, but somehow, the girl had found wisdom (whether or not she'd made it up) in the tale and she nodded as she sniffled.

"Okay."

"Well…" Connor started to rise but she mumbled petulantly.

"I'm scared."

"We'll be here." Travis said. "With our amazing powers and killer good-looks, the monsters don't stand a chance."

The girl looked unconvinced, so they continued to sit by her, watching the sky darken as the spirits of the campers fell.

They saw Pollux a little ways away, dealing small bouts of drink to the weary warriors and Travis was suddenly gripped by a strange and curling fear that he tried desperately to shake away as he glanced at his brother.

ooOOoo

The Last Olympians were huddled together around a crisp fire, staring into the grey. Whips of vacant snow breezed past them, accentuating the evening which was falling early.

They drew their jackets around them, breathing in the clear air and letting it slice into their lungs.

"We can't win." Drew finally mumbled, her eyes stormy. "There's no way…"

"Shut up." Nyssa muttered, leaning her head against Mitchell's shoulder. She needed to connect with somebody, to know that there was still people out there despite the madness.

Drew tossed her an angry glare and made to retort but Malcolm shook his head. He kind of wished that the snow would start falling again; the ground was too smeared for his liking.


	22. Hell is a game, you are the beast

Ethan lifted himself from the damp ground, brushing his pant legs. If he'd had a watch, he would have known that it was almost six in the evening. The sun was a burning red ball that hung in the clear sky, and he could see it faintly glimmering in the pine needles.

He made his way down the hill, stumbling a little through the gathering darkness. He realised he was still holding the sword, the tip crusted with dry blood. Ethan frowned a little as he gently set it down. He would not need it now.

ooOOoo

Just after the Apollo cabin had decided to take a little break- they'd been running around continuously, and anyway their job was done for the time-being- Will, noticed a shadow flitting through the trees.

He hurried forwards to get a closer look. It was Ethan Nakamura, kneeling on the ground. Turning back to look at his siblings, who were slumped against the wall of their cabin in various states of fatigue, Will decided to follow him, thinking the boy would lead him to Kronos.

ooOOoo

He met Nemesis in just before the forest sprinted into a clearing. The deep blue sky was a layer from which a curved slice was peeled off to reveal a pale pink moon. The tiny sprinkle of growing stars made Ethan feel very small for some reason. He faintly entertained the notion that he was cold.

His mother appraised him coolly. "You should smarten yourself up." She said and he felt a twinge of that familiar despair. For once in his life, he thundered, could he not please her?

"Are you sure about this?" Nemesis asked. There was a curious expression on her face that Ethan could not quite place.

"Yes. I just want there to be… to be a chance… justice, let them have justice."

Nemesis frowned, "So you have chosen your side."

Ethan bit his lip and nodded. "I came to you because I knew that you would be fair. After all, what's the point in anything if the gods don't keep their promises?" _And because you are my mother, if that would make a difference._

She snorted. "Child, does it seem that way from the example the Olympians have set?"

"The minor gods are different." He argued. "I hope they are different."

"What do you offer me in return?" Nemesis asked.

Ethan couldn't help but laugh sardonically. His mother: loyal to her cause until the very end.

"Everything."

He peeked at under from under his eyelashes; watching an expression of sorrow brush her cheeks for a second.

"You are sure?" She pressed.

"Yes."

"Very well," She said finally, "if such a heavy price is offered, I will switch allegiances. I confess, Kronos's rule does not seem as just as he claims. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps."

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Oh, the words, how they slipped from her like icicles as they dripped.

"Why can't you just switch sides on your own accord? If you thought Kronos had it coming… then why must I do this?" She thought he sounded very young.

"Because," she said, running a finger on the gnarled damp wood of a skeletal tree, its branches bright against the sky "nothing in this life happens without payment first, Ethan. I took your eye when I promised you that you would tip the scales of justice."

"Then why must you take…"

"I haven't fulfilled that promise yet." She snapped.

"Then you better hurry."

She glared at him, at her son, before she spoke into the wind. Ethan could sense in his numb state that she was calling someone. From the shadows, it seemed, Morpheus and Hecate shimmered into view.

"I have an offer to make to you." Nemesis said. "I will turn against Kronos."

Morpheus looked at her, and Ethan could sense the indecision that he was facing. "Why, Nemesis? Haven't we gotten the justice we always craved?"

"At what cost?" Hecate frowned. "I wanted respect, but I gained fear. My children die for me one side, one the other they fight against me, are ashamed of me. Neither side knows how much I'd rather they stay safe."

"Your children, Morpheus." Nemesis said, her eyes boring into the god's. "Did you not so valiantly champion for their safety not long ago?"

Morpheus growled and Ethan felt a wave of fatigue sweep over him. "What is the price of this Nemesis? Never have I seen you sway so easily."

His mother turned back to him, bringing the eyes of the two other gods along with her. Under their gaze, Ethan felt himself shrink slightly.

Hecate raised her eyebrows in understanding. Morpheus inclined his head.

"Bind him." Nemesis instructed, turning away. It was Hecate who did that, conjuring ropes out of the air that gripped furiously at his wrists and ankles and Ethan toppled to the ground, vibrating in fear. He thought he heard a howl in the distance and the stars in the sky pierced his eyes.

"Leave me." Nemesis whispered to the other two and they left, leaving her and her son alone in the shadows. "

She waited until all that was left were the shadows and trees. "Kronos has a spot…" she said, "A weak link in his chain on his left shoulder. Hecate has sensed it, with her proclivity for magic."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Ethan begged, "Now when I can't…"

"It will all work out in the end." Nemesis said and her voice was almost sad.

"Please, let me have a chance to…"

"There is no chance, Ethan. You have made me a deal."

"I thought I'd have time!"

"You were wrong." She whispered sadly.

He mumbled something under his breath and Nemesis strained to hear.

"What?"

"I said," He trembled, "are you proud of me, mother?"

Nemesis watched her son as he lay before her, tears glistening in his good eye. For once, Ethan thought he saw something that could almost be beautiful in his mother's eyes. Accepting that, he sighed in resignation.

From her pocket, Nemesis drew out a stone knife, its blade smooth and harsh. She closed her eyes as she brought it crashing down on her son.

ooOOoo

Will watched in horror as he saw the mother murder her son. He had been concealed within the pines. He could see, but not hear, the proceedings.

He waited until Nemesis had gone out of sight, leaving the boy behind. He let a few more seconds beat pass before he hurried over to Ethan.

The boy's death had not come yet. Poison from the dagger was seeping slowly through Ethan's veins and he was quickly fading.

"You!" He rasped when he saw Will come to kneel beside him, his face horrified. "You're the boy from… Liam Anthony…"

"I can heal you." Will said hurriedly, pushing his sleeves back as he prepared himself.

"Don't!" Ethan coughed, his vision beginning to swim. "This is a pact that I made with my mother to give your side a chance!"

Will frowned, "Your own mother killed you…" He said slowly. "You don't want me to do anything?"

"I was willing to pay… fair price." Ethan trembled. "Listen to me… I meant for this to happen... Not so soon, perhaps... but..."

Will wanted to do something, but he daren't disturb the rites, if Ethan was speaking the truth.

"Kronos has a spot… you can defeat… On his left shoulder…" Frowning, Will took this information in. "His left shoulder..."

"I can heal you." He said again, desperately, unsure of what else to do.

"Don't you dare." Ethan said, locking eyes with the boy. They were still in the night, two boys too young for any of this. One was already paying the price.

The son of Nemesis suddenly winced, his face erupting in a series of spasms before his eyes rolled back, the whites staring at the night sky above him.

ooOOoo

Nemesis took a cleansing breath of winter air as she turned to face Hecate and Morpheus.

"Have you decided?" She snapped, trying to tear her mind away from the begging image of her son's face.

"I am with you." Hecate murmured, her hair lit up by the gaze of the moon.

Morpheus hesitated. "I am only doing this for my children…" He said uncertainly.

Nemesis looked at him. "We can bring this war to its end." She paused. "I promised my son and I keep my promises."

Morpheus finally nodded. "I will do it."

A voice from nowhere came out of the trees. "Treason?" It sneered.

Nike advanced towards them, bloodlust in her eyes.

They responded quickly, but even with the numbers against her, she was the goddess of victory and had an ambition that almost rivalled Kronos.

The gods danced their rituals of battle as the moon rose and the sky fell, clashing through the night.

ooOOoo

Will drew a hand over Ethan's eyes, and for the hundredth time that day, took a deep breath to calm himself.

He had no idea where Kronos was, but he thought that he would be at the battle when it began again. He had no idea how long the respite was going to last and thought it would be best if he could hurry. Besides, he had no idea how near he might be to Kronos's troops and he didn't want to risk a meeting with a hellhound or any other monster.

Snow had begun to drift softly down, lovingly whispering against the pine needles. Will continued to run through the trees, praying that he was going the right way.

From seemingly nowhere, an arrow whistled through the dark, etching itself into his shoulder. It hurt like hades, as it pierced deeply into his skin. There seemed to be something in it that aided and intensified the pain. Will fell to the ground and did not move.


	23. Last Words of Old Shadows

_Author's Note: These are the last few chapters_

Nike smiled cruelly as she reported back to Kronos, who was eyeing the camp from their spot on the hill. Around him, the army was getting ready for the second wave attack.

"They are pitiful." She sneered. "And as for the betrayal of the three, I have taken care of them."

Kronos glared towards where Nemesis, Morpheus and Hecate were kept in a cage that appeared to be unbreakable.

In the twilight sky, the pink moon battled with the fiery sun that was descending into the earth.

"Assemble, my children!" He shouted and the armies fell into place. He stared towards the hill, filled with thoughts of righteous purpose.

"Now, we march."

ooOOoo

Someone new had replaced Butch in the watchtower and it was Clarisse, of all people. She'd needed some time alone and where else could she get her privacy except from high in the air? She peered into the thicket, awaiting the blow that she knew would be soon coming.

When she saw them approaching, she grit her teeth and picked up the bugle that had once been the son of Iris's responsibility.

Just before she blew, she felt the presence of another behind her; Chris had come up.

"They're here." She muttered and he nodded. They both exchanged a look that said everything that words could not before she lifted the instrument to her lips and blew.

ooOOoo

Austin started when he heard the mournful sound pierce the night. Around him, the other Campers were busy rushing to their various positions.

His half-sister, Marie, shook him by the shoulders; her face was shrouded in worry. "Austin, where's Will?"

"I thought he was in the cabin?" Austin frowned, hurriedly picking himself up. Jake Mason breezed past him with some tubes of Greek fire in his arms. Shouts echoed through the heavy air.

"I thought so, too… But he's gone. He would be here, right?"

An uneasy thought crossed Austin's mind. Earlier, when Will had gestured towards him to heal that camper and rushed off, he had wondered what was wrong. When Will returned, he had noticed the tear tracks on the older boy's face; his eyes had been slightly puffy as if he'd been crying.

Austin desperately tried to shake the idea from his mind. There was no way… Will was not a coward. After all they'd been through, would Will really have wasted it all to desert them in their time of greatest need? But then again, it seemed that the stress had finally infected the boy.

And he couldn't have been taken away; none of the monsters or demigods had remained at Camp during the respite, he was sure of it.

And now, in the heat of the moment, if Will was truly nowhere to be seen when he should be here right this moment…

The other cabins were already in their positions and Clarisse from her spot in front of her Ares brothers, shouted, "Apollo cabin! Get into place!"

Austin grabbed his bow and sheath of arrows off the porch and motioned to his siblings. "C'mon." He felt a rush of disappointment, anger, disbelief and despair crash on him like a grey sea on craggy rocks. As they stood and stared out into the distance, he kept waiting for Will to rush towards them and start giving out orders.

He didn't.

As he watched the armies of Kronos fall closer into view, Austin clenched his hand around his arrow and nodded at the remaining two of his siblings.

It looked like it was up to him now.

ooOOoo

"Oh my Gods." Travis turned around as he heard Connor mutter in horror. "Is that, at the back…?"

Travis squinted, the blood in his veins crusting into ice. "Well, _shit._"

Bringing up the rear, just behind a couple of the minor gods and a Titan or two, Kronos- still in his host body of their brother Luke- was leading the way.

ooOOoo

The population of the minor cabins had been small and all the children inside of them were clustered together, swords drawn. Their faces were taut and pale.

In one respect, they were different from the other campers here. This time, this battle, they would be fighting against their parents. How could any of them be ready for that?

ooOOoo

The two sides stood across from each other, analysing the enemy. Once again there was that silence; the mid-light between night and morning, the pause before the crash.

And then it began.

The madness begun anew as both sides met another as the earth finally ate the sun, leaving only the moon and stars gleaming above; spectators from the heavens.

Drew Tanaka was randomly swinging her sword around; her technique was more luck than anything else, but she seemed to be getting by. Then again, it was not like she had much time to muse over anything when she was fighting for her life.

A hellhound rushed toward her and she quickly ducked underneath it as it leapt over her. Unbalanced, she rolled across the ground, getting stained snow in her mouth. After a few seconds of blinding fear, she crashed into something that halted her progress. Arms and back aching, she desperately rose.

Lying next to her was the daughter of Hebe, Lynette. Shadows flitted over her face as she began groaning, clutching her right arm. Hot, sticky blood gushed through the gaps in her fingers and Drew could see tears in her clenched eyes.

With a shudder, the girl opened those eyes and focused them on Drew; they flashed in recognition.

"Help me, please…" The girl begged. "Just help me stand…" The snow around her was a bright, glorious red.

Drew hesitated- after all she was the _enemy_- before getting to her feet shakily, preparing to turn when she a movement just next to the girl. Something was shaking the trees. One of the pines broke free of its roots, its ancient body twisting towards the ground where the daughter of Hebe lay.

The girl tried her best to move but couldn't and in that split second, Drew made her decision. She broke through the air, pushing the girl out of the way just in time as they rolled over again. The tree landed with a resounding crash.

"T-thanks." The girl whimpered, staring in surprise at Drew, who got up, panting.

For some reason, the daughter of Aphrodite felt vaguely offended. "Well, yeah." She grabbed the girl and pulled her up into a sitting position before changing her mind and dragging her off into the trees, away from the fray.

Drew propped Lynette against some of the trees, making sure she was positioned properly before she ripped away a piece of her shirt and bound the girl's arm, drawing it tight over the wound.

"I used to date a son of Apollo." She murmured, still shocked at what she had done. Maria was shocked too and she glanced at Drew with gratitude.

The two girls stared at another for another moment before Drew rushed back into the fray.

ooOOoo

Travis and Connor were standing back to back. Years of brotherly connection had given them a certain sort of telepathy in whatever they did, including fighting. Next to them, an enemy demigod had cornered Jacqueline. The girl was trying her hardest to fight back, but her youth and size were of no help to her.

Travis twisted and knocked into the back of the enemy's skull with his sword, sending him spiralling towards the ground.

Ahead of him, Kronos was taking his time leisurely as he strolled,_ strolled _through the battle. Travis could tell that he was enjoying himself, biding his time as he savoured the destruction. Travis knew he would have stop to him somehow but a part of him felt unable to.

This was Luke after all; even if it wasn't, how could anyone expect me to fight the boy who'd introduced him to the cabin that was now his home, who'd been his older brother?

_That is not Luke_, the logical side of his brain whispered to him. But Gods, he couldn't shake away the harsh feeling.

Next to him, Clarisse swirled around. Strands of stair were whipping across her smudged face and her eyes were blazing.

"We're outnumbered!" She yelled so that he would be able to hear her.

All around him, mounds littered the grey snow. The orange shirts were few and far in between and Travis was rapidly losing hope.

He realised that whatever campers remained were surrounded by a ring of the enemy, pressing closer and closer upon them.

Across from him, Clarisse's eyes flashed with defeat and he felt the horror of loss within him. Then her eyes grew bright once more. They were on defence now, a pathetic circle with their weapons drawn against the enemy which was coming closer and closer.

"Give up." Kronos hissed, from the front of the circle.

"Like hades." Clarisse sneered and lunged but one of the enemy shot an arrow at her; not aiming to kill, just to abstain. Chris gave a yelp and rushed towards her but Kronos did the same to him; their unconscious bodies next to each other on the snow.

They were completely surrounded now and there was no break in the chain. Recognising defeat or certain death, the campers began to lower their weapons slightly and some a volley of arrows from the enemy hit a couple of them as they fell into the snow. They could not afford to lose whatever few they had remaining.

Someone in the group dropped their weapon in the snow. He heard and sensed the rest of the campers lowering their own swords as the Titan lord raised his banner into the dark skies where it swam as one with the wind. Travis lowered his sword with a heavy heart.

Kronos had won.


	24. Gargoyles with eyes of flame

"Solace?" The voice of a girl probed through his aching head and he opened his eyes painfully; above him was a ceiling of pine needles poking at the deepening sky. There was a slice of moon and it was pink.

A familiar face hung over him and it took him a moment to gather himself before remembering what he had been about to do, what he _had_ to do.

He recognised the girl now; it was Phoebe of the hunters.

"Solace?" She asked again, her voice none-too-happy. Around him there were more of the hunters and their legion of timber wolves, their bright blue eyes stark in the grey.

"Yeah, it's me…" He staggered up to his feet.

"We thought you were one of Kronos's armies when we saw you rushing through." she frowned, "You're lucky there were these medicine packs in your pockets. Anyway, where's Rashidah? We came at the sound of the horn. Hunters always come when the horn is blown."

He felt the familiar pang again and spoke quickly. "I'm sorry… She's… dead."

The hunters straightened their backs, disbelieving eyes scouting each other's in the darkness.

"How?" Phoebe asked, a look of grief and regret evident on her face. "Did she… was it the battle?"

Will shook his head, biting down the rush of feelings; too much was going on right now. "It was during the quest. I'm sorry."

"You used her horn to bring us here, then?" Phoebe blazed. "You're a _boy,_ not a hunter!"

Will groaned inwardly; there was no time for this. "Look, I did, okay? And I'm really sorry and everything but we've got more important things to deal with right now!"

He allowed them a brief moment of grief and regret before he barged on. "Look, you said you saw a battle on your way here. Kronos and his armies are attacking us and we're outnumbered. Hopelessly. If you join us, we have a chance! Will you?"

The hunters exchange fleeting looks before nodding in unison. Will hurried on, "And Ethan said that he bought us a chance somehow… What the hades could it be?"

"Ethan?" Phoebe frowned.

"Nakamura, son of Nemesis…"

"We saw Nemesis! She's still here along with Morpheus and Hecate. They're locked in some sort of prison."

"Hurry up," Will urged, "We need to find them."

ooOOoo

The remaining demigods of Camp Half Blood had been bound to each other by clanking chains in random rows. They didn't know what Kronos had in store for them, but they hoped; they were after all human, and they had to have something to cling to.

Like a trail of dead leaves, the Titan Lord strode purposefully to the Big House. He ran his eyes over the gathered crowd and they waited expectantly for him to continue.

"Demigods." He snarled with distaste. The body of the young boy still lay on the porch of the Big House and he kicked his small hand aside. "Bring the first line up!" He shouted to his guards and they pulled the first line of prisoners forward towards the platform.

This line consisted of Nyssa and Clarisse. Fear ran rampart in the crowd even as they kept their silent vigil. The moon had completely risen by now and its glow was cutting through the sky.

ooOOoo

Nemesis, Morpheus and Hecate were trying to break down their prison from the inside but it was useless; they didn't know what sort of charm had been placed upon it but it seemed unbreakable.

"I must find a way out!" Nemesis yelled desperately. "I made a promise to my son!"

From the outside, a voice broke through. "Nemesis?"

She pressed her face against the bars; Kronos had made sure that their cage would grant them the luxury of viewing outside events. He wanted them to see the destruction of the Camp, of their children.

A boy in an orange shirt stood against the clump of hunters and their circling wolves.

"It is I."

"Can you tell me what the promise you made to Ethan Nakamura was?" Will asked uncertainly.

Nemesis bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. "I promised him a switch in our allegiances. I promised him your side would have a chance."

The hunter named Phoebe frowned. "Why didn't you just promise him you'd win, if it's that easy?"

"I am not a miracle worker." Nemesis snorted. "We made the best bargain we could, see how deeply in trouble you lot are? A chance is all you have."

Will nodded and she could sense the urgency the boy was facing. Time was flying past them on silver wings, each second passing with fierce intensity.

ooOOoo

"I might as well explain," Kronos said icily, "What will happen now."

"Another prison?" Clarisse snarled, "More time spent bowing to _you_? Well, _Kronos_, you may as well kill me now because there's no way in hades-"

Kronos glared at her, cutting her off with a cold smile. "Excellent suggestion, daughter of Ares. You see, that is what I already planned to do!"

A chill silence fell over the captured campers. This was it; this was the final defeat, this was the end. They could fight back, yes, but the battle was lost before it began, given their numbers and morale. They were, in any case, chained.

It was over.

ooOOoo

"It's no use!" Phoebe grunted as the bars refused to break.

"There has to be a way!" Will protested. "It can't just end-"

"It will not!" Nemesis promised, seeing her son's anguished face and trembling body. The remembrance of her oath filled her in a furious crescendo and she wrapped her fingers around the bars. The more she reminded herself of her promise, the softer the iron became until it was almost melting in her grasp.

Hecate pitched in then, using her magic to dissolve the already weakened bars.

Will stared in disbelief as the three gods left the prison behind them, their feet sinking into the soft snow.

"How-"

"Do not doubt the power of a promise." Nemesis straightened her back. "A word kept can mean the world."

"But didn't Kronos plan…?"

"He doesn't fully understand us." Morpheus sneered as his cloak billowed around his feet like wisps of dark smoke. "Respect the minor gods, boy. We deal in spheres that others don't worry their minds about, but we can be deadly."

"Kronos has never bothered much of promises and so does not fully comprehend." Nemesis stated as she stared at their cage behind them. "He was always too proud, too caught up in his own glory to look behind him. And Nike, with her lust for victory does not understand either- she who would do anything to ascend; how can she understand the truth behind an oath?"

"Enough talk." Hecate instructed, sweeping her dark hair off her face. "It is time, is it not? And we have none to waste."

ooOOoo

They were to be executed two by two. Nyssa could feel her heavy bones; the last fleeting seconds were in her ear. She had never thought it would end like this; not here on this cold winter's day crushed by defeat.

Kronos loomed over her, his scythe hovering precariously close to her. It caught the sprinkle of the stars and for a moment she felt heartened. She looked up at the Big House where the flag the Last Olympians had erected still whipped through the night.

Chained just across from her was Clarisse; her eyes hard and lips set.

Kronos bent down and whispered to the girls as winter's skeletal fingers scraped their necks.

"You could have joined when you had the chance. You could have _submitted-_"

Clarisse spat in his face.

Kronos drew back, wiping the spittle from his eyes. He pulled the chains so that the girls were next to each other, facing the silent crowd. He could hear the silence and fear in the cold air and it filled him with pride.

Ignoring the shouts in the air from a son of Hermes, he raised his scythe and prepared to bring it down when something leaped through the gloom.

The howling of wolves distracted all of them and they turned towards the archway. Shards of white were leaping through the night, hatred in their icy eyes as they leapt at the enemy.

The wolves were the first to leap upon Kronos, their razor sharp teeth biting into his flesh, their keening piercing through the air. He shook them off angrily as more came upon them, followed by a troop of girls with regal expressions and drawn arrows that peppered the fray.

The Campers felt a rush of hope spark the frigid air as Nemesis, Morpheus and Hecate entered behind them; Hecate managed to find a way to break their bonds, the silver chains breaking around their sore wrists.

Invigorated by the sudden rush of allies, the campers rushed forwards to pick up the weapons that littered the ground and re-join the battle.

Bringing up the rear, Will Solace appeared, breaking through the dark. The remaining children of Apollo gave a cry of triumph at the return of their cabin counsellor and it was towards them that Will went to first, pushing past the chaotic horde.

Austin grinned, "Thought you'd left us for good, man."

"Seemed that way, didn't it?" Will smiled as they continued to battle against the enemy and were torn apart.

The minor gods were advancing towards Kronos.

Will found himself next to the Stoll brothers. His eyes quickly sought out the Titan Lord and he knew that he had to get there immediately. He could end this.

But he needed help and so he turned towards them. "I found a way to defeat Kronos!" He said between bouts of sword clacking and dodging. "If we can make it towards his left shoulder, we're in- it's over."

"His left shoulder?" Travis asked as he narrowly missed getting hit by a club. "I think Clarisse is already on it- she doesn't know, but as usual, she's on it."

Will turned and sure enough, Clarisse was already racing through the chaos towards Kronos who was battling Nemesis and Hecate at once. Towards his right, Morpheus was locked in a duel with Nike.

A fiery glow lit up the night sky; somehow the brackets of torches had been sent spilling towards the ground and had caught on some of the cabins. Zeus's own cabin with its proud façade was bathed in majestic flames, spiralling heathen demons of screaming orange and yellow that accentuated the raging battle.

Will hurriedly made his way towards Kronos, his face lit up in various shades of fire as Zeus's cabin burned towards the ground, the other cabins following its example. Will felt a piercing of agony, rage and grief burn within him as he ran; the sky drenched in waves of liquid flame, the stars screaming for revenge.

_This was his home._

And soon he was just in front of Kronos, amidst the wild keeling and the gnashing and the chaos; and Kronos turned towards him, having gotten rid of Clarisse, who'd been flung towards one of the trees. In the heat of the battle, the partners had been switched and it was now Morpheus who advanced.

"Traitor!" Kronos screamed as Morpheus faced him; the minor god's eyes blazing with the engulfing flame. "Your children will die before the sun rises!" Kronos raised his hands to slow time but Morpheus combated with his powers, sending the Titan into a fatigued haze that he struggled to get out of.

"My children," Morpheus said with a cold fury, "will not be harmed."

From nowhere, Connor had appeared, a spear in his hands as he angled himself towards Kronos's shoulder, his face conflicted as he tried to get thoughts of Luke out of his mind; but the Titan twitched away from him, slamming the boy into the ground where he rolled on, staining the already dirty snow.

Travis, who had made to follow him, gave a yelp and changed course towards his brother.

ooOOoo

Nyssa and Jake Mason were standing in the forest as they urged Peleus up. The dragon had not worked throughout the first half of the battle but they were really desperate now, so they were trying again.

"Come on!" Nyssa groaned urgently as she tried to get the dragon to move. Jake was fiddling with some screws on its head as vibrating lights reflected off the metal.

"Screw it!" Mitchell said finally, grabbing a bottle of oil and spilling it down the tube. Jake made to stop him but the deed was already done.

Peleus's eyes blinked to life as it raised its head with a whirring sound, the snow crumbling underneath its feet.

The three Campers gave a cry of joy as the dragon raised itself up on its legs and took off into the night, sending whirs of flame down at the enemy.

On its side, the mark of Olympus shone in stark silver.

ooOOoo

Nike was finding herself overpowered as both Hecate and Nemesis were forcing her towards the ground but she put up a fight, refusing to be defeated.

"Hey." An angry voice leaped at her as the cabins continued to drown in the flames.

It was that daughter of Ares. "This is not your battle, half-blood!" Nike laughed as she danced between a spell Hecate had shot at her.

Clarisse fumed, her sword in her hand. Something was vaguely different about her, something reddish glowing at her edges.

"It's always my battle." The girl sneered as she pitched in with the two minor goddesses, her sword dancing in hand-to-hand combat with Nike as Hecate continued to shoot her spells.

Under their combined fury, Nike buckled towards the snow and they consumed her.

ooOOoo

Connor was breathing weakly when Travis found him.

"What the hades was that?" Travis yelled as he kneeled next to his brother, the gashes in his faces lit up. The black sky was aflame with a kaleidoscope of breathing fire, the stars looked as if they were raining down towards earth.

"My master plan." Connor coughed, wiping smears of blood off his cheek.

"You're not dying on me, dumbass." Travis commanded as he helped his brother sit up.

"Yeah, that was not part of my plan, funnily enough."

ooOOoo

All around them the battle went on. Austin was leading a group of campers in a fight against a horde of dracaena; Malcolm and Jake Mason were locked in a fray with a hellhound. A few metres away, Nyssa was tossed against a tree as she duelled with an enemy demigod, the clashing colours swirling through the night. Peleus flew through the air as the monsters cowered beneath his rage.

As Morpheus and Kronos continued to battle, Will was waiting for the perfect time to strike, trying to build up the courage. He remembered all his fallen friends and he thought he saw their faces staring determinedly back at him through the flames. He felt something inside him strengthen.

Grey bodies littered the snow, staining the ground around them. Cold, frozen bodies of Campers; bodies of friends.

Finally, Morpheus abandoned all godly power and leaped at the Titan, sending them both spiralling towards the ground.

Will took the moment to sneak up behind Kronos, just as the Titan threw Morpheus off him.

He was on his back now; he may have looked like Luke, but Kronos was so much stronger and Will was struggling to angle his knife as he tried to find a chink in the Titan's armour.

"Half-Blood!" The Titan yelled, the tips of his golden hair shimmering as he tried to get Will off him but the son of Apollo held on.

But finally the Titan overpowered him and sent him crashing into the snow, white flakes drifting upwards. And then Kronos was just _over _him and Will thought those cold eyes were the last thing he was going to see. But it was not going to end like this, he was going to make sure of that.

Kronos was prepared to stop time and end the fray but a spear hit into him from behind. Nemesis was standing behind him, her eyes glittering with hatred.

Kronos pushed Will to the ground and turned around, pulling out the spear.

The goddess inclined her head before tilting her chin. "I promised my son."

"And I promise you death!" Kronos yelled, using the spear to lunge at Nemesis but Will leaped up again, his battered lungs screaming in protest, and slid his knife underneath Kronos's armour as the Titan swirled around trying to fight off the combined forces of Nemesis and Morpheus who were attacking him with all they had. Will could feel the Titan shuddering with power: Kronos was preparing to break through; he had enough trouble as it was, the only thing that kept him on was Kronos's distraction. Will was trying desperately to find flesh and then he did-

He was thrown back by the sheer force of the action a brief moment after his blade connected with the Titan's skin, hurtled towards the snow. He vaguely heard the voice of a Camper yelling at them all to duck and a great glow filled the sky, washing away the glint of flames and the cries of the stars and even the moon. The night was turned into day for a single heartbeat.

Like a chorus of Northern Lights, the golden wash spread throughout the sky on what seemed like wings of ancient songs, decimating a ring of Kronos's monsters around him as they pulsed in the cold night once more.

Blinking dust and soot out of his eyes, Will got himself up from the sludge and crept towards the blackened crater in front of him. Through a sprinkling of ash and what looked like gold, Kronos lay silent.

When Will reached him, he noticed that the Titan's eyes were still open. Snow had started to fall, the white flakes brushing against their faces.

He noticed that the eyes were blue. Bright blue.

Luke's watery eyes met Will's; his weak, human body broken in the snow.

"He's gone." Will muttered in shock and Luke nodded, tear tracks sliding down his pale face.

He murmured something and Will inched forwards to hear it.

"Thank you." The son of Hermes rasped, relief and joy filling those blue eyes as they shut for the last time. "Thank you."

Will closed his eyes as the rest of the Campers, in a rush of relief and joy, realised what this meant: the battle had ended.

He made his way gingerly to his feet as he walked towards where the rest of the Apollo cabin was standing.

It was over.


	25. Dusk sun, dawn moon

There was still much to be done.

A team would have to be deployed to find and free the Gods; and little pockets of guards were set up to combat the few groups of Titan resistance that remained.

The Stolls were also adamant about bringing Marty up to the surface, protesting that he'd been underground long enough. Nyssa was now trying to get the car up from the bunker.

Away from the Camp, America was starting to rebuild itself; finding the calm within the chaos.

Back at Camp Half-Blood, the cabins would have to be rebuilt. The process had already started and the first walls were going up.

A new, cleansing fall of snow had blessed them the night before.

And there was also the healing of the wounded, and a healing for all.

The funerals and tributes would have their time. The burning of the shrouds would light up yet another winter's night very soon. There would be no forgetting of those grey bodies that had lain fallen in the battle, or the memories of them in better times.

But for the moment, there was peace; the peace that they'd fought for.

After putting up the walls for the new Apollo cabin that glittered in the pale winter sun, Will Solace grabbed a guitar. It was the only thing from their cabin that had survived the night. Miraculously, it seemed, but miracles were not so uncommon. A string or two had been snapped and the wooden edges were charred, but the instrument still sang.

As there had been an ending, there was to be a beginning; as it was with all stories that had been passed down through the ages.

And so, it was.


End file.
